COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Cross Country will host its first home meet of the season on Friday, as the Tigers host three SEC opponents in the Mizzou XC Opener at Gans Creek Cross Country Course. The men will compete in the 6k at 8:30 a.m. CT, and the women will begin the 5k at 9:00 a.m. CT.
Mizzou will run 27 athletes, 11 on the women's side and 16 on the men's. Of the 27 runners, five will be making their collegiate debut as Tigers. The men and women will compete against Arkansas, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt in the season opener. The Tigers will also have six total running unattached, two women and four men.
On the women's team, nine returning runners will be in the lineup on Saturday. Included in the starters will be senior Sarah Chapman (Maidenhead, England) who led the team to a third-place team finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships in 2019 and placed 47th at the NCAA Championships in 2021. Sophomore Ginger Murnieks (Lee's Summit, Mo.) is also returning, who finished fourth-overall freshman and earned SEC All-Freshman honors at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships in 2019 .
The men's team will also feature 15 key returners, including junior Marquette Wilhite (Warrensburg, Mo.), who placed 38th at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships in 2019.
Debuting this weekend for the Tigers will be five newcomers including Senior Owen Bishop (Claremont, Calif.), Senior Jacob Nicholson (Spokane, Wash.), Sophmore Royce Fisher (Grain Valley, Mo.), Freshman Allison Newman (Germantown, Tenn.), and Freshman Georgie Purcell (Faulconbridge, Australia).
In 2019, the last time the event was held, both the men and women swept the Mizzou XC Opener, with women claiming the top four attached finishing positions. Senior Sarah Chapman (Maidhead, U.K.), junior Mikayla Reed (Washington, Mo.), sophomore Ginger Murnieks (Lee's Summit, Mo.), were among the top finishers who will also compete in this year's field.
UP NEXT
Following the Mizzou XC Opener, Mizzou will visit Vanderbilt to compete in the Commodore Classic on Friday, Sep. 17 for the second meet of the season.
For all the latest on Mizzou Track & Field, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (MizzouTFXC).
MEN:
Owen Bishop
Jackson McAlister
Jacob Nicholson
WOMEN: