Oct. 25, 2003
Pittsburg State Women and Missouri Southern Men Win MIAA Cross Country Championships
Both returning champions, the Pittsburg State women and the Missouri Southern men captured the MIAA Cross Country titles held at the Kirksville Country Club in Kirksville, Mo. The Missouri Southern men have won four straight conference championships and 2003 is the third straight MIAA title for Pittsburg State women.
The Lions, with three runners finishing in the top ten, triumphed over Truman in the mens' race by just one point with a team score of 47. Central Missouri State came in third with 87 points, followed by Northwest Missouri (92), Emporia State (128), Pittsburg State (142), Missouri-Rolla (178) and Southwest Baptist University (210).
Jarod Wall, the individual race champion from Central Missouri, came in at a time of 25:13.04, with second-place finisher Alan Heincker of Truman close behind at 25:32:15. Other players receiving all-conference honors by finishing in the top 10 were: Emporia State's Andrew Bird (25:57), Missouri Southern's Magnus Holmstrom (26:10), Truman's Andy Person (26:13), Missouri Southern's Paul Koehler (26:16), Northwest Missouri's John Heil (26:22), Northwest Missouri's Kyle Keraus (26:42), Pittsburg State's Eric Sornson (26:48) and Missouri Southern's Craig Rhoads (26:50).
On the women's side, Pittsburg State also had three top-10 finishers as it finished with 50 points, ahead of second-place Missouri Southern who recorded 62. Truman finished third with 78 points, followed by Central Missouri (86), Southwest Baptist (116), Missouri-Rolla (161), Northwest Missouri (172) and Emporia State (190).
Central Missouri also captured the individual title on the women's side as Kristin Anderson won with a time of 22:20. Kate Hamera of Missouri-Rolla was second with a mark of 22:27, followed by Missouri Southern's Jen Noelken with a time of 22:28. Rounding out the top 10 were: Pittsburg State's Abbey Oshel (22:37), Missouri Southern's Ashley Caffey (22:51), Pittsburg State's Megan Nelson (22:52), Pittsburg State's Kyle Hutsey (23:13), Truman's Meagan Robertson (23:19), Truman's Dani Rawlings (23:24) and Missouri Southern's Megan Russell (23:26).
The conference cross country teams will be in action again on Nov. 8 at the NCAA South Central Regionals in Commerce, Texas.