On September 28, 2002, the Iona Meet of Champions cross country event took place, featuring collegiate women’s teams from across the country. The results highlighted strong performances from several universities.
Yale University’s Kate O’Neill won the individual race with a time of 20:36.6. Zoila Gomez from Adams State finished second at 20:42.1, followed by Laura O’Neill of Yale in third with 20:58.3.
Missouri Tigers Women’s Cross Country had a notable showing in the event. Amanda Bales led Missouri runners, finishing fourth overall in 21:08.4. Valerie Lauver and Amy Chipman also placed within the top ten, taking sixth (21:19.3) and tenth (21:45.4), respectively. Other Missouri finishers in the top thirty included Katherine Bonugli (18th), Jackie Pirtle (24th), Ashley McLeod (34th), and Serena Ramsey (50th).
The meet brought together athletes from schools such as Wake Forest, Dartmouth, Cornell, Harvard, and others, demonstrating competitive depth among collegiate programs.
Missouri’s representation in the upper ranks underscores their competitiveness at this national invitational meet.
