Oct. 24, 2004

Cross Country Squads Have High Finishes At MIAA Championships

women's results | men's results

The Bulldog cross country squads both finished in the upper half of the final standings at the MIAA Championships that was run yesterday in Maryville, Mo. Two players on both squads earned all-conference honors by finishing in the top-10 during the race.

For the second year in a row, a Truman squad fell one point shy of capturing a MIAA title. This year it was the women's team coming up just short. The Bulldogs had 60 points at the meet, one more than Central Missouri. The runner-up finish for the women's team though was the team's best since they won the title in 2000.

The men's team finished third in their competition, finishing just three points shy of moving up to the number two spot. The Bulldogs had 85 points at the meet while runner-up Emporia State recorded 82. Central Missouri also won the men's title with 43 points.

Individually for the women, sophomore Lauren White (Lee's Summit, Mo./Lee's Summit) and junior Abbie Smith (Urbandale, Iowa/Dowling) earned all-MIAA honors. White finished the 6,000m race in a time of 23:43 and placed seventh overall. Smith came in tenth after recording a time of 23:53.

Senior Dani Rawlings (Fargo, N.D./Fargo South) and junior Sarah Armstrong (Metamora, Ill./Metamora) finished 11th and 12th, respectively. Rawlings had a time of 24:03 and Armstrong's time was just a second slower. Rounding out the top five was Grace Delnero (Leawood, Kan./St. Thomas Aquinas) who was 20th with a mark of 24:33.

On the men's side, juniors Aaron Wells (Runnells, Iowa/Southeast Polk) and Eli Klimek (Platte City, Mo./Platte County) earned all-MIAA honors. Wells crossed the finish line in seventh-place overall with a time of 27:01. Klimek was eighth in the 8,000m race with a time of 27:10.

Senior Trey Robinson (Chesterfield, Mo./Lafayette), sophomore Jason Simpson (Liberty, Mo./Liberty) and freshman Bryant England (Elliott, Iowa/Griswold) were the other scorers for the Bulldogs. Robinson was 15th with a time of 27:31. Simpson finishing with a mark of 27:47 which was good for 21st place. England was 34th overall with a time of 28:18.

Cross Country Notes: Both teams will be off next weekend in preparation for the NCAA regional meet on Nov. 6 in Joplin, Mo. At that meet, the men's team will be looking to advance to the NCAA championship for the fifth straight year while the women's squad will look to advance to nationals for the first time. The men's team was ranked sixth in the latest regional poll while the women's team was third in the region and 21st in the nation. The top three men's teams will advance from the regional competition while the top two women's team will earn a berth to the national meet.

Men's Cross Country | Women's Cross Country | Truman Athletics