Kate Smith was not nervous. Although the Illini Challenge was her first meet as a Missouri Tiger, the freshman felt eager for the race.
“I was just more excited to be racing again and finally do something after a long summer of training,” she said.
The Tigers raced at the University of Illinois on Friday. The women finished third out of three teams and the men finished second out of two teams. However, neither the men nor the women sent their top runners to Illinois. They will run next week in the Forest Park Cross-Country Festival.
Smith led the women, finishing in third place out of 26 runners. She ran her 5,000-meter race in 18:09, averaging under six minutes per mile. Freshman Kelli Jackson also had a strong run in her Tiger debut, finishing in sixth place.
The men ran a 6,000-meter race. Junior Will Crocker led the Tiger charge, finishing ninth out of 25 runners with a time of 19:20. Sophomore Ben Goodman was the second Tiger to cross the line, finishing in 13th place.
It was a strong start to a promising season for the team. After a long summer of training, Smith said it was exciting to race once again.
“Being able to start on the line with a group of great girls and new teammates was just awesome,” Smith said.