Mizzou Cross Country to Host Season Opener at Gans Creek

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Cross Country will host its first home meet of the season on Friday, as the Tigers host three SEC opponents in the Mizzou XC Opener at Gans Creek Cross Country Course. The men will compete in the 6k at 8:30 a.m. CT, and the women will begin the 5k at 9:00 a.m. CT.

Mizzou will run 26 athletes, 11 on the women’s side and 15 on the men’s. Of the 26 runners, four will be making their collegiate debut. The men and women will compete against Arkansas, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt in the season opener. The Tigers will also have six total running unattached, two women and four men.

On the women’s team, nine returning runners will be in the lineup on Saturday. Included in the starters will be senior Sarah Chapman (Maidenhead, England) who led the team to a third-place team finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships in 2019 and placed 47^th at the NCAA Championships in 2021. Sophomore Ginger Murnieks (Lee’s Summit, Mo.) is also returning, who finished fourth-overall freshman and earned SEC All-Freshman honors at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships in 2019 . 

The men’s team will also feature 15 key returners, including junior  Marquette Wilhite (Warrensburg, Mo.), who placed 38^th at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships in 2019.

Debuting this weekend for the Tigers will be four newcomers including Senior Owen Bishop (Claremont, Calif.), Senior Jacob Nicholson (Spokane, Wash.), Freshman Allison Newman (Germantown, Tenn.), and Freshman Georgie Purcell (Faulconbridge, Australia).

In 2019, the last time the event was held, both the men and women swept the Mizzou XC Opener, with women claiming the top four attached finishing positions. Senior Sarah Chapman (Maidhead, U.K.), junior Mikayla Reed  (Washington, Mo.), sophomore Ginger Murnieks (Lee’s Summit, Mo.), were among the top finishers who will also compete in this year’s field.

UP NEXT

Following the Mizzou XC Opener, Mizzou will visit Vanderbilt to compete in the Commodore Classic on Friday, Sep. 17 for the second meet of the season. 

For all the latest on Mizzou Track & Field, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (MizzouTFXC).

MEN:

Angus Beer

Owen Bishop

Ryan Mata

Jackson McAlister

Michael Moriarty

Blake Morris

Jacob Nicholson

Jonathan Schmidt

William Sinclair

Mitchell Small

Jack Warner

Marquette Wilhite

Luke Winkler

Quentin Worley

WOMEN:

Andi Bowman

Mckenna Butler

Isabelle Christiansen

Abby Hake

Ginger Murnieks

Allison Newman

Mikayla Reed

McKenna Revord

Reilly Revord

Jenna Schwartz

Anna Sullentrup