Mizzou cross country claims two fifth-place finishes at conference championships

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Mizzou cross country opened the postseason in Knoxville, Tennessee, at the SEC Championships, where both No. 22 men's and No. 23 women's teams finished in fifth place.

For the men, it was their second consecutive season slotting in at No. 5, totaling 145 points. 12 points separated the second and fifth teams, with Georgia claiming silver with 123, Oklahoma third with 126, and Arkansas just ahead of the Tigers with 131.

Senior Drew Rogers led the Mizzou, finishing seventh individually with a time of 23:29.60. This was the highest individual place for a Tiger at the conference race since Kieran Wood took fourth in 2020, and the first top 10 finish since 2021.

Senior Austin Poppelwell improved on his personal best to be the second Tiger across the line in 24th, followed by freshman Elijah Limo in 31st. They ended with times of 24:03.76 and 24:12.82, respectively.

On the women's side, the Tigers improved eight spots from last year to finish fifth, scoring 172 points and beating out Texas A&M, No. 27 Tennessee, and Kentucky. This was their highest team place since taking third in 2019.

Freshman Monica Wanjiku finished sixth with a time of 20.02.20, marking the highest finish at this race for a Mizzou woman since Sarah Chapman's third in 2020. Junior Suzy Lecoutre was the second finisher for MU in 33rd with a time of 20:54.62, closely followed by two more freshmen: Kobi Walker in 36th and Mirriam Chepkirui in 38th.

You can find the rest of the Tigers' finishing positions below.

Men's 8k Results - 5th Place (145 Points)

• Drew Rogers, 23:29.60 - 7th
• Austin Popplewell, 24:03.76 - 24th
• Elijah Limo, 24:12.82 - 31st
• Ryder James, 24:18.13 - 37th
• Tyler Freiner, 24:25.99 - 47th
• Carter Spradling, 24:37.31 - 54th
• Joshua Allison, 24:43.82 - 60th

Women's 6k Results - 5th Place (172 Points)

• Monica Wanjiku, 20:02.20 - 6th
• Suzy Lecoutre, 20:54.62 - 33rd
• Kobi Walker, 20:57.19 - 36th
• Mirriam Chepkirui, 21:00.22 - 38th
• Natalie Barnard, 21:32.29 - 61st
• Rahel Broemmel, 21:37.81 - 65th
• Allison Newman, 21:39.22 - 66th

Up Next - Mizzou travels to Stillwater, Oklahoma, for the NCAA Midwest Region Championships on Nov. 14.