Mizzou Cross Country Set for Season Opener at Commodore Classic
9/18/2020 9:49:00 AM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country, Cross Country
The Tigers will travel to Nashville, Tenn. to compete in an all-SEC showdown.
Columbia, Mo. – Mizzou Cross Country will open the 2020 season as the team travels to Percy Warner Park in Nashville, Tenn. to compete in the Commodore Classic on Saturday. The men are scheduled to begin the 8000m race at 8:30 a.m. CT, while the women will start the 6000m race at 9:15 a.m. CT.
Mizzou will run 17 athletes, nine on the women's side and eight on the men's. Of the 17 runners, six will be making their collegiate debut.
On the women's team, nine runners who contributed to the Tigers' fourth consecutive Top-5 finish at the SEC Championships will be in the lineup on Saturday. Included in the starters will be senior Sarah Chapman (Maidenhead, England) and sophomore Ginger Murnieks (Lee's Summit, Mo.) who led the team to a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships in 2019.
The men's team will also feature key returners, including junior Martin Prodanov (Plovdiv, Bulgaria) and Marquette Wilhite (Warrensburg, Mo.), who both placed in the top-40 at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships last year, and redshirt senior Kieran Wood (Cambridge, England) who finished second on the team in both of his appearances in 2019.
Last season, the Tigers posted three top-15 finishes at the Commodore Classic, resulting in a fourth-place team finish for the women, while the men's team finished in fifth. Leading the charge in 2020 will be Chapman and Wood, who placed 11th and 14th, respectively in last year's race.
Debuting this weekend for the Tigers will be freshmen McKenna Revord (Hinsdale, Ill.), Angus Beer (Rozelle, Australia), Ryan Mata (Liberty, Mo.), William Sinclair (Tauwhere, New Zealand), Jack Warner (Kansas City, Mo.), and Luke Winkler (Kansas City, Mo.).
After the Commodore Classic, Mizzou returns home to host the Gans Creek Classic (Oct. 3), the Tigers' first of two home meets of the season. Following that meet, Mizzou will host the Missouri XC Invitational (Oct. 16) in its final meet of the regular season. Both meets will be held at the Gans Creek Recreation Area, the Tigers' state-of-the-art facility that opened just last season. Mizzou will then head to Baton Rouge, La. to kick off postseason competition with the SEC Championships on Oct. 30.
Mizzou Starting Line - Men
Angus Beer (Fr.) // Ryan Mata (Fr.) // Martin Prodanov (Jr.) // William Sinclair (Fr.) // Jack Warner (Fr.) // Marquette Wilhite (Jr.) // Luke Winkler (Fr.) //Kieran Wood (R-Sr.)
Mizzou Starting Line - Women
Sarah Chapman (Sr.) // Isabelle Christiansen (So.) // Karina Liz (R-Sr.) // Lexi Maddox (Sr.) // Ginger Murnieks (So.) // Reilly Revord (Jr.) // McKenna Revord (Fr.) // Jenna Schwartz (So.) // Kelsey Schweizer (So.)
For all the latest on Mizzou Track & Field, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (MIZ_TrackField).
Players Mentioned
