Oct. 17, 2007 – Truman State University will host the 2007 MIAA Cross Country Championships this Saturday at the Kirksville Country Club.  The women’s 6K race will begin at 10:30 a.m., while the men’s 8K race will start at 11:15.  It will be the first time since 2004 that the cross country teams have had a race in Kirksville. 

 

The Site:

The Kirksville Country Club (located behind the Super 8 on highway 63) will be playing host to the meet.  The Country Club has a rolling terrain and great vantage points to watch the race.  The start and finish lines will be just to the right of the 10th tee.

Spectators are asked to park across highway 63 at the Grim-Smith Health and Wellness Center.

 

Scoring:

Each school will declare up to 10 runners on Friday evening prior to the race.  The finish of the top five runners from each school will be added up to determine the team finish. 

The top 10 individuals will earn all-MIAA honors.

 

Website/Results:

The meet website is located here and will have the results posted as soon as they become available.

 

Defending Champions: 

  • The Missouri Southern men will be looking for their third straight cross country title and sixth since 2000. Only two schools have kept the Lions from winning all the championships outright.  Central Missouri won the last time the race was in Kirksville in 2004 and the Bulldogs tied the Lions in 2001.
  • Central Missouri and former member Southeast Missouri have won the most conference titles at 12 apiece, followed by the Bulldogs 11 MIAA championships.

 

  • The Missouri Southern women will also be looking to repeat in 2007.  The Lions dethroned Central Missouri as two-time champions last year in Bolivar.  The Jennies were the conference champions at the Kirksville Country Club in 2004.
  • Southeast Missouri won the first 10 women’s cross country titles before leaving for Division I, since then, Pittsburg State has led the way with six titles.

 

Individual Defending Champions:

  • Senior T. Jay Sanderson, from Southwest Baptist, was the men’s winner last year in Bolivar with a time of 24:43.03.  Adam Akers, from Central Missouri, placed second five seconds back from Sanderson and is the top returning runner to the meet.
  • There have been three men’s individuals to win three MIAA titles.  Ed Schneider and Ron Wherling from Truman did it from 1962-1967 and Mark Curp of Central Missouri won three straight from 1978-1980.
  • Six men have won the race twice with the last being Jarod Wall of Central Missouri in 2003 and 2005.

 

  • Jonel Rossbach of Emporia State will be looking to be the ninth women to win two MIAA titles as she will be defending her 21 second victory at Southwest Baptist last year.  Rossbach edged Truman’s senior Jacquie Faust in a time of 21:28.99 and also placed 17th at the National Championship meet last year.
  • Kristin Anderson, of Central Missouri, is the last two-time MIAA champion.  Anderson accomplished the feat in 2003 and 2004.
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National/Regional Rankings:

  • In the latest South Central regional poll on the men’s side, Southwest Baptist is ranked second behind Abilene Christian.  Central Missouri, Missouri Southern, Emporia State and Pittsburg State are third through sixth and Fort Hays State is ninth.
  • Southwest Baptist is the only men’s school to appear in the national top 25 that is released by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA).  The Bearcats are ranked 20th.  Abilene Christian is the top ranked team in the country.
  • On the women’s side, the MIAA has the top three teams in the region in Missouri Southern, Southwest Baptist and Pittsburg State.  Central Missouri and Northwest Missouri are fifth and sixth respectively.  Truman and Emporia State round out the top 10 in the South Central region.
  • In the women’s national poll, Missouri Southern is ninth, Southwest Baptist is 18th and Pittsburg State is 20th.  Adams State (Colo.) is the current number one team in Division II.

 

A Look At The Bulldogs:

  • The Truman men’s team finished just one point behind Missouri Southern the last time Truman had the “home-course” advantage.  The Bulldogs were picked sixth by MIAA coaches in the preseason but have a second and third place team showing in events this year.
  • Bob Gorman has the team’s highest individual place finish with a 7th showing at the season opening Miner Invitational in Rolla.  Gorman has finished first through fourth on the team in the four events this season.
  • Bryant England and Zach Chapmen have also been near the top of the Truman runners this year.  England has been second on the team in two races and was first in the Border States Invitational the last time out.  Chapmen had been third or second among Bulldogs in three of the four meets.

 

  • Danna Kelly has been Truman’s top performer all season long.  Kelly won the season opening Miner Invitational and has been in the top five in three of the four meets this fall.  Kelly’s best time was 18:08 at the Southern Stampede where she placed 14th overall.
  • Grace DelNero has been at Kelly’s heels all season long.  DelNero was second to Kelly in Rolla and fifth overall at the Emporia State meet in September.
  • Morgan Cox and Kylie Raithel have battled each other for third and fourth place among the team all season long.

 

Up Next:

All South Central regional teams will compete in the NCAA regional event in Joplin on Nov. 3rd.  It will be a preview of the NCAA Division II championship race that will be held on Nov. 17th on the same course.