JOPLIN, Mo. – Competing in one of the largest meets in the nation, Missouri S&T's cross country teams finished in the middle of the pack Saturday at the Southern Stampede held at Missouri Southern State University.
The women's team came in 15
th place in the team standings in a meet consisting of 33 teams – and was 10
th among the 27 NCAA Division II schools in the competition, while the men's squad finished in 17
th place out of 27 teams entered. The Miners finished 12
th among the 21 Division II teams.
Hannah Shearer (Conroe, TX/The Woodlands Christian Academy) was the top finisher among the Lady Miners Saturday as she came in 50
th place overall in the five-kilometer race in a time of 18:30, while
Megan Schulte (Columbia, MO/Rock Bridge) finished 57
th overall in 18:35. S&T's third finisher Saturday was
Katelyn Fricke (Brimfield, IL/Brimfield) in 84
th place with a time of 18:59.
S&T's final two scorers were
Kala Morgan (Broken Arrow, OK/Broken Arrow), who crossed the finish line in 19:12 and
Kennedy Duffy (Rochester, IL/Rochester), who had a time of 19:20.
Tori Bonnot (Jefferson City, MO/Jefferson City), who recorded a time of 19:31 and
Kristin Goerger (Belleville, IL/Belleville West), who finished in 22:14, were the next two Lady Miners to finish.
Kelsey Bruce, running unattached in the meet of 279 runners, was the race winner in a time of 16:50. Tulsa captured the team championship with a score of 39 points.
Joe Bindner (St. Peters, MO/Fort Zumwalt East) led the men's contingent with a 43
rd place finish in a time of 25:52 in the eight-kilometer race held on a muggy morning in Joplin. S&T's next finisher was
Connor Crabtree (Columbia, MO/Rock Bridge) in 96
th place in 26:50, while
Duncan Clark (Kirksville, MO/Kirksville) came across the line in 27:10.
Bristol Hargis (Webb City, MO/Webb City) was the Miners' fourth finisher in 27:17 and
Adam Kraus (Tulsa, OK/Thomas Edison Preparatory) completed the Miners' top five in 27:18. S&T's next two finishers were
Justin Johnson (Miller, MO/Willard) in 28:15 and
Garrett Blanchard (Centralia, IL/Centralia), who finished in 28:25. A total of 267 runners completed the race.
Oklahoma City's Mark Shaw finished as the race winner in 24:02, while Wichita State – who had four of the top 10 scorers – won the team title.
Missouri S&T's next competition is slated for Sept. 30 when it takes part in the Greater Louisville Classic.
