University of Missouri
SEC Championships
Mizzou Cross Country Women Finish Third at SEC Championship, Men Finish Seventh
11/1/2019 7:00:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country, Cross Country
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Mizzou Cross Country began the 2019 postseason on Friday morning at the SEC Cross Country Championships in Lexington, Kentucky. The teams faced off against the rest of the teams in the SEC and fought through two extremely competitive races to earn two solid team finishes.
The women finished in third place with 159 team points, and the men finished in seventh with 162 points. Junior Sarah Chapman (Maidenhead, England) led the women with an 18th place finish, while redshirt senior Thomas George (Gloucester, England) finished in eighth for the men.
This was the highest finish for the women since the 2016 season, when they finished in third place. A strong push by the Tigers in the middle of the pack solidified the top-three finish for the team. With only 30 points separating third place from ninth place, every point mattered for the Tigers.
NOTABLE TIGERS
The Mizzou women placed five runners in the top 50, including freshman Ginger Murnieks (Lee's Summit, Missouri). Murnieks was the fourth-fastest freshman to cross the line in the women's race, earning her All-Freshman honors.
A handful of Mizzou women posted season-best 6K times, including Murnieks, Melissa Menghini (Fenton, Missouri), Hannah Thomas (Urbandale, Iowa), Sophia Racette (St. Louis, Missouri). Mikayla Reed (Augusta, Missouri) and Jenna Lutzow (Poplar Grove, Illinois).
On the men's side, George paced the team with a career-best time of 23:14.8, beating his previous best set at last season's SEC Championships. He finished in eighth place, earning him second team All-SEC honors. He is Missouri's highest finisher on the men's side since 2014, when Tyler Schneider took fifth place.
The rest of the men logged impressive performances, with every athlete who finished recording a personal-best time. Sophomore Martin Prodanov (Plovdiv, Bulgaria) came in second for the Tigers with a time of 23:48.8 He was followed closely by Marquette Whilhite (Warrensburg, Missouri), who cut almost two minutes off of his fastest time, finishing in 23:51.4. Victor Mugeche (Blue Springs, Missouri) and Oaklee Hauschild (Blue Springs, Missouri) also recorded their fastest career 8K times.
QUOTABLES
Mizzou Head Coach March Burns on the Men: "What a fantastic race by Thomas today. He established his position early on and battled hard to the line. He closed well over the last lap and looked to be getting stronger as the race wore on. That is a nice way to end his SEC cross country career and we are really proud of him. Our men were on the short end of the 5-6-7 team race. Martin and Marquette really stepped up today. It is great to see Marquette up there as a red shirt freshman. The guys fought hard and there was some valuable experience gained for a young squad moving forward."
Burns on the women: "Our women moved up throughout each lap and came away on top of the 3-9 team race. There were only 30 points that separated 3rd-9th place so every point was important. Sarah got up front and hung on while the rest of the team came charging from further back in the pack. It was great to see Melissa have two excellent races back to back and for Ginger to close hard over the last lap. Jordyn Kleve and Hannah Thomas also came up big over the last lap and helped our team move from 5th to 3rd in the last 1000m. We are really proud of this team and how they have responded to adversity throughout the year. They never stop battling and that trait will suit them well in two weeks at the NCAA Midwest Region Championships"
UP NEXT
Mizzou will continue postseason competition as they move to NCAA Regionals in Stillwater, Okla. on Friday, Nov. 15. There they will face off against teams from around the midwest with hopes of qualifying for NCAA Cross Country Championships. The Championships will take place on Saturday, Nov. 23 in Terre Haute, Ind.
For all the latest on Mizzou Track & Field, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (MizzouTFXC).
MEN'S 8K RESULTS – 7th Place (162 points, 8-25-28-36-65)
8. Thomas George, 23:14.8 // 26. Martin Prodanov, 23:48.8 // 29. Marquette Wilhite, 23.51.4 // 39. Victor Mugeche, 24:07.8 // 68. Oaklee Hauschild, 24:42.3 // 78. Dylan Quisenberry, 24:57.3 // DNF Michael Widmann,
WOMEN'S 6K RESULTS – 3rd Place (159 points, 18-28-29-40-44)
18. Sarah Chapman, 20:49.1 // 28. Ginger Murnieks, 21:01.1 // 29. Melissa Menghini 21:03.4 // 42. Jordyn Kleve, 21:20.9 // 48. Hannah Thomas, 21:25.9 // 53. Sophia Racette, 21:29.4 // 56. Mikayla Reed, 21:34.1 // 71. Jenna Lutzow, 21:55.2 // 76 Isabelle Christiansen, 22:00.8 // 82. Jenna Schwartz, 22:09.5 // 101. Emma Roth, 22:37.8 // 114. Tori Findley, 22:54.7 //
Players Mentioned
