Nov. 22, 2004
Results
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -
The Missouri women's cross country team came up with an 11th-place national finish at the NCAA Championships on Monday - the team's best finish in 20 years. On the mud-filled championship course, Seniors Serena Ramsey and Jill Petersen led the Tigers.
Ramsey (Waukesha, Wisc.) crossed the line in 65th in a time of 21:35.1, despite getting knocked to the ground early in the race. Petersen was 85th overall, clocking in at 21:47.0.
"We had a great season and I'm proud of their efforts in today's race," said Rebecca Wilmes, Assistant Cross Country Coach. "Our women will be thinking that they may not have performed just the way they wanted to, but they should be happy overall of how the season unfolded. They will be more pleased than satisfied and ready to do well this track season and looking forward to next year's cross country season."
The Tigers scored 346 points, their best (lowest) since the 1984 squad scored 223 points for the team's all-time best national finish of 7th.
Tiger junior Kristin Hansen (Milford, Iowa) ran a career race, coming close to the top 100 and improving by over 100 spots in the final order. Amanda Bales (Bettendorf, Iowa) and Valerie Lauver (Allen, Texas) rounded out Tiger scoring, cracking the top 120.
The Tiger women won the NCAA Midwest Regional last weekend in Peoria, Ill., and came into the meet ranked ninth in the country. Heavy-rains overnight made an already soft and muddy course nearly into a swamp in some places, not helping the Tiger cause and causing individual times to be slower-than-average. The Colorado men and women thrived in the conditions and swept both team titles. The favorite on the women's side, Stanford, placed fifth.
In the men's race, Tiger junior Tim Ross (Alto, Mich.) placed 233rd.
For complete results, visit ncaasports.com. The end of the meet officially ends the cross country season. Missouri Track & Field will start its indoor season by hosting the Missouri Invitational January 14th. For more information on both cross country and track and field, visit mutigers.com.
