Mizzou Cross Country Announces 2017 Schedule

2017 SCHEDULE

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Looking to build off a highly successful 2016 campaign, Mizzou Cross Country head coach Marc Burns announced the team's 2017 schedule on Wednesday. Mizzou will begin the season at the JK Gold Invitational in Wichita, Kan., on Saturday, Sept. 2.

"Our 2017 cross country schedule is going to set us up for a big post-season," said Coach Burns. "Wichita State has a nice course just outside of Wichita that will be a low-key opener for us. The Vanderbilt and Oklahoma State meets will have some rolling terrain and will be good opportunities for us to race teams outside our region. The hills at Oklahoma State should help prepare us for the courses we will see this season, but we will also have to do some quality work on hills this fall to be ready to roll."

After the opening meet, Mizzou will travel to Nashville, Tenn., and Stillwater, Okla., for meets on Sept. 16 and Sept. 30, respectively. Last season, senior Karissa Schweizer (Urbandale, Iowa) began her dominance through the cross country season by winning the Commodore Classic on Sept. 17. Mizzou will then be in action on back-to-back days as the team splits to compete at the Bradley Classic in Peoria, Ill., on Oct. 13 and the Pre-National Invitational in Louisville, Ky., on Oct. 14.

"The Bradley and Pre-National meets will give us a chance to score some at-large wins and figure out our post-season roster," said Coach Burns. "Louisville will host both the Pre-National and NCAA meet, and has a fast, flat and very tight course. It requires the ability to get out fast enough to not get buried early on, but not too fast, so you can close fast."

After the Pre-National meet, Mizzou will begin post-season competition with the SEC Championships, Oct. 27 in Athens, Ga. Following the conference meet, Mizzou will then race at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships on Nov. 10, where the women's team will be defending their regional title from a season ago. At the NCAA regional meet, Mizzou hopes to qualify both teams to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2000. In 2016, The women's team made their first appearance at the NCAA meet since 2004, while the men's team looks to qualify for the first time since 2000.

"The SEC meet is at Georgia this year, and will present a challenging course," said Coach Burns. "Following the conference meet, the NCAA Midwest Regional is at Iowa State, where they have a dedicated cross country course that is rolling-to-flat most of the way. You never know about the weather will be like in Iowa in November, so we will be prepared for anything. Overall, we are excited about the schedule and look forward to seeing how the season pans out."

For all the latest on Mizzou Track & Field, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (MIZ_TrackField).

2017 Mizzou Cross Country Schedule

Date	Meet	Location
Saturday, Sept. 2	JK Gold Invitational	Wichita, Kan.
Saturday, Sept. 16	Commodore Classic	Nashville, Tenn.
Saturday, Sept. 30	Cowboy Jamboree	Stillwater, Okla.
Friday, Oct. 13	Bradley Classic	Peoria, Ill.
Saturday, Oct. 14	Pre-National Invitational	Louisville, Ky.
Friday, Oct. 27	SEC Championships	Athens, Ga.
Friday, Nov. 10	NCAA Midwest Regional Championships	Ames, Iowa
Saturday, Nov. 18	NCAA Championships	Louisville, Ky.

Schedule

Players Mentioned

Karissa Schweizer

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