Nov. 2, 2002

Final Stats

The University of Missouri women edged out Texas to finish second at the Big 12 Cross Championships today held at A.L. Gustin Golf Course. The women were beaten only by Colorado, which also took the men's title. Colorado Senior Molly Austin won the 6K event to help lead the Buffaloes to their fourth straight Big 12 crown. Mizzou freshman Valerie Lauver led the Tigers with a fifth place finish and a time of 20:58.52. Lauver said, "I thought we did well, but we've had better days. But today we proved we're on track." Assistant cross country head coach Rebecca Wilmes was happy with the second place finish, "I'm happy walking away with second. In conference, you can't take anything for granted. We may have been seeded second, but it's all about what you get done on this day."

The Missouri men finished ninth at the championships today while the University of Colorado won their seventh consecutive Big 12 title. Colorado senior Jorge Torres won his third consecutive individual title while setting a course record. Missouri was led by junior Ryan Hampton who finished 11th. Missouri cross country head coach Jared Wilmes said he was excited on how his team ran, "I thought Ryan Hampton ran excellent. His performance was one of the highest finishes we've had at conference in the past ten of fifteen years. The rest of the guys competed hard. We're still really young, and I think we took a step in the right direction for the next year." The Tigers will compete next at the NCAA Regionals in Normal, Illinois on November 16th.