Mizzou Cross Country places top-12 at Gans Creek Classic

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Mizzou Cross Country clashed with some of the nation's best runners at Gans Creek.

The Tigers hosted an event-record 87 teams at the seventh-annual Gans Creek Classic on Friday morning, earning eighth place in the Women's 6K Gold and 12th place in the Men's 8K Gold races.

Both teams toppled nationally-ranked programs in their respective races. Mizzou Women's Cross Country outperformed No. 16 Michigan State and No. 24 Lipscomb. Mizzou Men's Cross Country bested No. 7 Stanford, No. 17 Eastern Kentucky and No. 18 Washington State.

Monica Wanjiku, a true freshman, was MU's top runner across both teams. She finished in 11th place out of 237 athletes to secure a medal in her cross country debut, registering the fifth-best time (19:35.1) among all freshmen in the race. Suzy Lecoutre and Kobi Walker rounded out Mizzou's top three finishers in the Women's 6K Gold competition, taking 29th and 59th place, respectively.

Elijah Limo, another true freshman distance runner, paced the Tigers in the Men's 8K Gold race, posting a personal-best time (23:13.0) to claim 36th place out of 251 athletes. He also placed top-five among all freshman runners in the competition. Limo was followed by Drew Rogers and Tyler Freiner in 43rd and 86th place, respectively.

You can find a full list of MU's individual results in the list below:

• Women's 6K Gold:
  • Monica Wanjiku (11th Place)
  • Suzy Lecoutre (29th Place)
  • Kobi Walker (59th Place)
  • Rahel Broemmel (70th Place)
  • Mirriam Chepkirui (85th Place)
  • Natalie Barnard (118th Place)
  • Charlotte Cullen (133rd Place)
  • Allison Newman (148th Place)
• Men's 8K Gold:
  • Elijah Limo (36th Place)
  • Drew Rogers (43rd Place)
  • Tyler Freiner (86th Place)
  • Ryder James (106th Place)
  • Austin Popplewell (140th Place)
  • Raymond Kipkoech (180th Place)
  • Joshua Allison (211th Place)
  • Louie Endres (Did Not Finish)

The Gans Creek Classic featured nine women's programs that are nationally-ranked and six men's teams that are considered top-20 in the country, including defending NCAA Champion BYU and NCAA runner-up Iowa State. Individually, the competition featured the reigning NCAA Men's Champion, and conference champions from the SEC, Big Ten, and ACC.

Up next - The Tigers will welcome another elite field of teams to Gans Creek on Saturday, Oct. 18 for the Pre-National Invitational. The women's race is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. with the men's race to follow at 11 a.m.