COLUMBIA, Mo. - Mizzou cross country earned a pair of fourth-place finishes and three All-Southeastern Conference honors at the SEC Cross Country Championships on Friday morning at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course, the second time the program has hosted the conference meet.
The No. 17 women’s team scored 138 points for its highest SEC finish since a third-place run in 2019, while the men totaled 145 points to edge Tennessee (148) by three for their best result since taking third in 2021. It marked the first time since 2014 that both Tiger teams placed fourth or better at the conference championships and the first time in program history that the men and women have posted top-five finishes in back-to-back years. Missouri joined Alabama and Florida as the only programs to put both teams in the top four.
“It feels good, after back-to-back fifth-place finishes and both teams in the top five last year, to have two teams in the top four this year,” head cross country coach Kyle Levermore said. “Alabama, Florida and us were the only programs to do that, and to be in that company as a full men’s and women’s program is the standard. What I want this program to be known for is that it’s not just the men’s program or the women’s program. It was a good day today.”
Sophomore Monica Wanjiku led the women for the second straight year, placing seventh in a personal-best time of 19:05.2 to earn All-SEC First Team honors for the second-consecutive season. She became the third woman in program history to earn first-team recognition twice, joining Kaitlyn Fischer (2013-14) and two-time SEC champion Karissa Schweizer (2016-17). Her time is the fastest ever by a Tiger at an SEC Championship meet, bettering Schweizer’s 19:36.3 from 2017, and the fastest 6K by a Mizzou woman at Gans Creek.
“The moment you feel that pain, that’s when the race is starting,” Wanjiku said. “Some people feel it and want to give up, but when I feel like giving up, that’s when I tell myself it’s time to execute and go.”
Junior Kobi Walker took 17th in 19:27.2 to collect Third Team All-SEC honors, shaving 27 seconds off her previous personal best. Senior Rahel Broemmel (29th, 19:54.7) and sophomore Suzy Lecoutre (33rd, 20:06.5) followed, and junior Charlotte Cullen closed out the scoring in 55th, clocking a personal-best time of 20:35.4.
Freshman Jean Kipchumba paced the men in eighth place, running 22:32.2 to earn All-SEC Second Team and All-Freshman Team honors in his conference championship debut. His time is the fastest 8K ever run by a Tiger at Gans Creek and at an SEC Championship, surpassing Drew Rogers’ 22:54.1 from 2024, and it slots in at No. 8 on the course’s all-time list. The finish ties for the fourth-best by a Mizzou man at the conference meet since the program joined the SEC in 2012.
“The last time I went out too fast in the first 2K or 3K, so here I was just telling myself, ‘Okay, I’ll run my comfortable pace and then start racing,’” Kipchumba said. “I felt strong. I’m really strong, so I thank God for that.”
Sophomores Elijah Limo (26th, 23:13.2) and Raymond Kipkoech (29th, 23:18.5) gave the Tigers three runners inside the top 30, with Kipkoech setting a personal best, and freshman Emmanuel Kiprop (39th, 23:40.1) and senior Joshua Allison (44th, 23:48.1) rounded out the scoring five.
Florida’s Kelvin Cheruiyot won the men’s race in 22:03.1, breaking the Gans Creek 8K course record by more than 21 seconds, and the top 17 men’s finishers all ran faster than the course’s previous all-time top-10 list. Alabama’s Caren Kiplagat won the women’s 6K in 18:46.5, the fifth-fastest time in course history, with Arkansas runner-up Isca Chelangat (18:47.9) moving to No. 7. Alabama swept the team titles.
TOP TIGERS
- Freshman Emmanuel Kiprop cut more than a minute and a half off his previous 8K best (25:12.4) with his 23:40.1 as the men’s fourth scorer.
- Junior Carter Spradling (48th, 24:01.2), junior Joseph Bariola (60th, 24:15.0) and senior Ethan Lee (87th, 25:18.7) all posted personal bests, giving the men six PRs among nine finishers.
- Junior Emery Mayfield lowered her 6K best by more than 30 seconds, clocking 21:23.5 in 102nd.
- Ten of Mizzou’s 20 finishers set personal bests on the day – four on the women’s side and six on the men’s side.
WOMEN’S 6K RESULTS – 4th Place (138 points, 7-17-29-33-52)
7th – Monica Wanjiku, 19:05.2 // 17th – Kobi Walker, 19:27.2 // 29th – Rahel Broemmel, 19:54.7 // 33rd – Suzy Lecoutre, 20:06.5 // 55th – Charlotte Cullen, 20:35.4 // 82nd – Mirriam Chepkirui, 21:02.1 // 96th – Morgan Yeomans, 21:14.8 // 102nd – Emery Mayfield, 21:23.5 // 118th – Maleah Eggers, 21:44.9 // 132nd – Elissa Barnard, 22:04.6 // 135th – Natalie Barnard, 22:17.3
MEN’S 8K RESULTS – 4th Place (145 points, 8-26-29-39-43)
8th – Jean Kipchumba, 22:32.2 // 26th – Elijah Limo, 23:13.2 // 29th – Raymond Kipkoech, 23:18.5 // 39th – Emmanuel Kiprop, 23:40.1 // 44th – Joshua Allison, 23:48.1 // 45th – Tyler Freiner, 23:48.3 // 48th – Carter Spradling, 24:01.2 // 60th – Joseph Bariola, 24:15.0 // 87th – Ethan Lee, 25:18.7
UP NEXT
The Tigers continue the postseason at the NCAA Midwest Regional on Friday, Nov. 13, at the Iowa State Cross Country Course in Ames, Iowa.
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