Mizzou cross county grabs pair of fourth-place finishes at SEC Championships
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Mizzou cross country put the nation on notice with a pair of big-time performances at the SEC Championships at the Gans Creek course, on Friday morning.
The Tigers earned a pair of fourth-place finishes and three All-SEC honors at the Championships, which were hosted in Columbia for just the second time.
The No. 17 women scored 138 points for its highest conference finish since a third-place run in 2019. Meanwhile, the men posted 145 points to edge out Tennessee by three points for MU's best result since taking third-place in 2021. This marked the first time since 2014 that both Mizzou teams placed fourth or better at the SEC Championships and the first time in program history that the men and women have posted top-five finishes in back-to-back seasons.
"It feels good, after back-to-back fifth-place finishes and both teams in the top five last year, to have two teams in the top four this year," head cross country coach Kyle Levermore told ABC 17, after the meet. "Alabama, Florida and us were the only programs to do that, and to be in that company as a full men’s and women’s program is the standard. What I want this program to be known for is that it’s not just the men’s program or the women’s program. It was a good day today."
Sophomore Monica Wanjiku paced the women for the second-straight season, finishing in seventh with a personal-best time of 19:05.2. That performance earned her First Team All-SEC honors for the second-straight year.
Wanjiku bested one of the most legendary Tigers in program history in Friday morning's performance. The sophomore's time is the fastest by a Tiger at an SEC Championship meet, bettering Karissa Schweizer's 19:36.3 from 2017.
She was followed up by junior Kobi Walker, who took 17th-place and earned Third Team All-SEC honors, shaving 27 seconds off of her previous personal best time. Senior Rahel Broemmel and sophomore Suzy Lecoutre followed up in 29th and 33rd place, respectively. And junior Charlotte Cullen made a more-than 40 spot jump throughout the race to end up in 55th with a personal-best time of 20:35.4.
On the men's side, true freshman Jean Kipchumba led with an eighth-place finish, clocking a time of 22:32.2 to earn Second Team All-SEC and All-Freshman Team honors. That time is the fasted 8K ever run by a Tiger at the Gans Creek course and at an SEC Championship, surpassing Drew Rogers' 22:54.2 from 2024. Kipchumba's finish tied for the fourth-best by a Mizzou man at a conference meet since joining the SEC in 2012.
Sophomores Elijah Limo and Raymond Kipkeoch finished in 26th and 29th place, respectively, giving the Tigers three runners inside the top 30. Freshman Emmanuel Kiprop and senior Joshua Allison rounded out the scoring five, ending in 39th and 44th place, respectively.
Up next - The Tigers continue the postseason at the NCAA Midwest Regional on Friday, Nov. 13, at the Iowa State Cross Country Course in Ames, Iowa.
