Columbia News

Mizzou Cross Country is set to begin its 2020 season at the Commodore Classic, held at Percy Warner Park in Nashville, Tennessee. The men’s 8000-meter race will start at 8:30 a.m. CT on Saturday, followed by the women’s 6000-meter race at 9:15 a.m. CT.

The Tigers will field a total of 17 athletes for the event, with nine women and eight men competing. Among these runners, six are making their collegiate debut.

The women's team includes all nine athletes who contributed to Missouri's fourth consecutive top-five finish at the SEC Championships last year. Senior Sarah Chapman from Maidenhead, England, and sophomore Ginger Murnieks from Lee's Summit, Missouri, are among the starters; both played key roles in leading the team to a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships in 2019.

On the men's side, junior Martin Prodanov from Plovdiv, Bulgaria, and Marquette Wilhite from Warrensburg, Missouri—both of whom finished in the top-40 at last year’s NCAA Midwest Regional Championships—will return. Redshirt senior Kieran Wood from Cambridge, England also returns after finishing second on the team in his two appearances during 2019.

In last season’s Commodore Classic, Missouri’s women placed fourth as a team while the men finished fifth. Chapman and Wood led their respective teams with individual finishes of 11th and 14th place.

Freshmen McKenna Revord (Hinsdale, Illinois), Angus Beer (Rozelle, Australia), Ryan Mata (Liberty, Missouri), William Sinclair (Tauwhere, New Zealand), Jack Warner (Kansas City, Missouri), and Luke Winkler (Kansas City, Missouri) will compete for Mizzou for the first time this weekend.

Following the Commodore Classic, Mizzou will host two home meets at Gans Creek Recreation Area: the Gans Creek Classic on October 3 and the Missouri XC Invitational on October 16. These meets are part of their regular season schedule before postseason competition begins with the SEC Championships in Baton Rouge on October 30.

For more information about Mizzou Track & Field and updates throughout the season, fans can visit MUTigers.com or follow MIZ_TrackField on social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.