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COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri Cross Country will compete in the SEC Cross Country Championships on Friday at the Charwood Golf Club in Columbia, S.C. The event will be broadcast live on SEC Network.
The men will run the 8k title race at 9:03 a.m. with the women’s team to follow in the 6k at 9:45 a.m.
Mizzou will send 20 athletes to the Championship race, 10 on each of the men’s and women’s squads.
Missouri enters the championships after a four-race regular season that concluded with the XC 23 Pre-Nationals on Oct. 14.
Drew Rogers and Ryder James headline the Missouri men in the title race. Rogers, an All-SEC Freshman Team member a season ago, paced the Tigers in the Mizzou XC Opener and the Gans Creek Classic.
James led Missouri with a ninth-place finish at pre-nationals. The freshman also claimed fourth overall in the season opener at 18:18.6 and was the second Tiger across the line in the classic with a time of 24:37.3.
Junior Blake Morris has finished in the top five among Missouri competitors in each of the season’s competitions. Morris was the second Tiger across the line in Charlottesville, Va.
In his most recent event, Morris came in second amongst Tiger runners with an 8k time of 24:39.6 and finished second overall in the Mizzou XC Opener with a 6k time of 18:14.9.
Mikayla Reed and Jenna Schwartz will lead the women’s squad into the competition.
Schwartz notched a second-place finish in the opener with a time of 17:49.0 and followed it up with a 21st-place result (21:43.0) at the Gans Creek Classic. Additionally, the Waterloo, Iowa native was the first Tiger across the line at pre-nationals, placing 50th overall.
Reed was the first Tiger to the line at the classic as she notched a 12th-place finish with a 6k time of 21:25.2. The senior placed third in the field at the season opener with a 5k time of 17:49.1.
Schwartz notched a second-place finish in the opener with a time of 17:49.0 and followed it up with a 21st-place result (21:43.0) at the classic.
The Alabama Crimson Tide swept the men’s and women’s conference crowns last season, claiming their first men’s title since 2009-10 and their first women’s title since 1987-88.
Friday will be the fourth time that the championships will be held in Columbia, S.C., with prior hosting years in 1997, 2005, 2010.
The championship award ceremony will follow the conclusion men’s race.
MEN
Angus Beer, Carson Helmer, Ryder James, Ethan Lee, Blake Morris, Austin Popplewell, Drew Rogers, Luke Voelker, Jack Warner, Quentin Worley
WOMEN
Isabelle Christiansen, Kaia Downs, Nicole Louw, Karlina Murnieks, Reilly Revord, McKenna Revord, Lydia Roller, Jenna Schwartz, Kelsey Schweizer, Anneken Viljoen
FOLLOW THE TIGERS
For all the latest on Mizzou Track & Field, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (@MizzouTFXC).
