Columbia News

Mizzou Cross Country athletes competed at the NCAA Midwest Regional in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on Friday. Redshirt senior Thomas George finished second overall in the men's 10k race with a time of 30:42.5. This result qualified him for the NCAA Cross Country Championships, which will take place next Saturday in Terre Haute.

George is the first Mizzou male runner to qualify for the national championships since Max Storms did so in 2012. He was closely followed by Iowa State's Edwin Kurgat, who took first place. Other top performers for Mizzou included sophomore Martin Prodanov, who finished 34th with a time of 31:46, and sophomore Marquette Wilhite, who placed 38th with a time of 31:49. The Tiger men's team finished tenth out of 27 teams.

On the women's side, junior Sarah Chapman led the team with a 17th-place finish and a time of 21:10 in the 6k race. Seniors Melissa Menghini and Jordyn Kleve contributed to the team's score by finishing 20th and 21st respectively. The women’s team achieved fifth place overall, marking their best finish since taking fourth in 2017.

Chapman, Menghini, and Kleve all earned All-Region honors for their performances. This year’s total is the highest number of All-Region recipients for Mizzou since the 2016 season.

Mizzou Head Coach Marc Burns said, "Our men's and women's teams came to race today. Sarah did a great job leading the way and Melissa and Jordyn closed hard over the last 2k. We put ourselves in the race from the gun and battled hard. Having three all-region finishes is fantastic and we know as we look to the future that we are close to putting five in the top thirty. Thanks to all of our seniors for their efforts to continue to set the standard high for Mizzou cross country. The future looks bright and we will take all that you each have done for us and build on it!"

Burns also commented on George's performance: "Our men did a fantastic job establishing themselves in the top fifty and battled hard the entire race. Thomas was strong up front and closed effortlessly for second. We are so proud of how he has grown in all areas of his life over his five years here. He will be prepared to fight hard next weekend and we are looking forward to him carrying the flag for the program in Terre Haute. Martin and Marquette had breakthrough races in the top forty and learned what it takes to be all region in the future. Our men have really developed and we have a lot of depth returning and some talented newcomers to add to the team. This is an exciting time to be a Tiger and we are fired up for the future of this program."

Thomas George will represent Missouri at next week’s NCAA Cross Country Championships.

The women’s results were as follows: Sarah Chapman (17th), Melissa Menghini (20th), Jordyn Kleve (21st), Ginger Murnieks (47th), Hannah Thomas (68th), Sophia Racette (83rd), Mikayla Reed (113th). For more information about Missouri Tigers Track & Field/Cross Country programs visit MUTigers.com or follow their social media channels.