Vanatta Earns Eighth-Place at Midwest Regional
Nov. 14, 2009
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Freshman Kaitie Vanatta (Littleton, Colo.) highlighted Mizzou cross country's performance at the 2009 Midwest Regional, running to an eight-place nod and likely earning a berth to the NCAA Championships. Vanatta finished the 6K trek in 21:01.80 and was the fifth Big 12 runner to finish at the event. After placing in the top 25, she also earns All-Midwest Region honors to go along with her All-Big 12 accolade, earned two weeks ago. Vanatta will have to wait until tomorrow for the at-large bids to be announced, but she was the No. 4 finisher from a non-qualifying team at the event, making it a strong likelihood that she will represent the Tigers at the NCAA Championships later this month. "Obviously we are very excited to have Kaitie to likely earn a bid to the National Championships in her first season," women's head coach Rebecca Wilmes said. "She has had a great season and has bright future here at Mizzou. Hopefully she can make some history at the NCAA Championships." If selected, Vanatta will be sixth Tiger to represent Mizzou at the NCAA Championships in the past six seasons and the first runner on the women's side to represent Mizzou since the entire women's team took 11th overall back in 2004. As a team, the Tiger women placed seventh overall at the event this season with 202 points while the Tiger men finished 11th with 302 points. Ellen Ries (Ryan, Iowa) was the women's second finisher at the meet behind Vanatta, racing to a 34th-place finish with a 6K time of 21:49.50. Freshman Bailey Belvis (Prosper, Texas) was Mizzou's third finisher as she clocked in at 22:09.10, giving Mizzou two freshmen in the region's top 55 runners. Kinsey Farren (Dallas, Texas) and Emily Baker (Wildwood, Mo.) rounded out the top five for the women, finishing in 61st and 64th with times of 22:22.20 and 22:33.30, respectively. Laura Roxberg (Overland Park, Kan.) and Chelsea Chrisman (Eureka, Mo.) also ran in the race for the women, finishing in 121st and 142nd, respectively.
Michael Pandolfo (Lone Tree, Colo.) paced the men's team with a 36th-place finish after completing the 10K course in 31:59.40, marking the first time that he has led the Tigers this season. True freshman Max Storms (Kansas City, Mo.) also had a fine showing in his first NCAA meet, placing 62nd overall with a time of 32:49.80. Aaron Dixon (Lee's Summit, Mo.), who is a mid-distance specialist on the track team, stepped up and had a solid performance as well as he placed 70th overall and third among Tigers, his highest among Mizzou runners this season. Phillip King (Columbia, Mo.) finished just behind Dixon in 71st with a time of 33:14.70 while teammate Dan Quigley (St. Louis, Mo.) placed just behind King in 77th after finishing the course in 33:24.5. Senior Ben Wade (St. Charles, Mo.) was the Tigers' sixth finisher in his final collegiate race, placing 107th overall with a time of 34:07.10. The Tigers will now await the announcement of the at-large bids to the NCAA Championships on Sunday (Nov. 15) as Vanatta will likely earn her first career berth to the NCAA Championships. For all the latest on Mizzou cross country, stay tuned to www.MUTigers.com. |
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