Missouri begins its postseason competition this Friday as the men and women compete at the SEC Cross Country Championships at the Indian Pines Golf Course in Auburn, Alabama.
The women, ranked ninth in the USTFCCCA Midwest Regional Rankings, will participate in the 6K at 9 a.m., followed by the men’s 8K at 10 a.m. The men are currently ranked 12th.
The starting lineup for the women consists of four freshmen: Tori Findley, Mikayla Reed, Reilly Revord and Emma Roth. They will be running beside Jordyn Kleve, Karina Liz, Jenna Lutzow, Melissa Menghini and Sophia Racette.
“Freshmen [Reed and Findley] have benefitted from really good leadership from girls like Sophia [Racette] and Melissa [Menghini], but they’re like seasoned veterans already,” coach Marc Burns said in a phone interview Thursday. “They are above and beyond their years’ maturity and that’s the way they operate on a daily basis, and has a lot to do with the success they’ve had.”
Running for the men are Chris Conrad, Zach Cook, Thomas George, Oaklee Hauschild, Justin Loquercio, Stephen Mugeche, Martin Prodanov, Evan Schulte, Michael Widmann and Kieran Wood.
Wood and George have both placed first for the men this season, but due to injuries since his freshman year, Schulte has fallen in the middle of the pack.
“We know what [Schulte] is capable of doing,” Burns said. “He’s got a ton of God-given talent, and he’s now able to use it. We need him to go up and run with Thomas [George] and Kieran at the front of the pack, but we also need him to push other guys to run up with him.
“To have teammates next to you in the trenches means everything.”
Live results for the meet Friday will be available through Delta Timing.
_Edited by Bennett Durando | bdurando@themaneater.com_