Mizzou women's cross country goes full throttle, wins the eighth annual Gans Creek Classic

Competition was strong at the meet this morning, as this was Missouri’s first contest facing other Southeastern Conference teams. As a result, many Tigers stepped up and turned into diamonds under the pressure.

Monica Wanjiku was once again the fastest Mizzou runner; she sped to a fifth-place finish in the women's 6-kilometer race after being clocked in at 19 minutes, 18 seconds. Her time means that she averaged a 5:10-mile pace over the 3.7 mile race.

While the race raged on, Wanjiku and a group of around nine other runners stuck to a pack at the front. In this situation, an athlete’s mindset is a crucial part of racing, and Wanjiku knows how to deal with the battle.

"First thing is believing in myself and saying, no matter what, I will keep on pushing hard," she said. "I'm always so excited to run with the best girls, so when I'm around them I always feel so comfortable."

Breaking away from the pack can be extremely difficult, especially if one falls into the lull of running next to other people. At some point somebody has to make a move, and Wanjiku was confident that she could outlast her opponents.

"At the last 2K I was like, 'I'm not letting anyone pass me,' even if I was feeling so tired," she explained. "I had a reason to keep on running for my team, for my coaches and for my family."

MU's Rahel Broemmel was next after Wanjiku, finishing just one spot lower in sixth with a 19:38. The senior's time Friday morning was her fastest 6K with the Tigers, beating her old mark set in 2024’s SEC Championship.

Not far behind Broemmel was Suzy Lecoutre, who secured ninth place running a 19:41. The other two Tigers to score were Kobi Walker in 13th and Mirriam Chepkirui in 23rd. Both of them also ended the day with a new personal-best time for Missouri.

Women’s 6K leaderboard

1. Missouri: 56 (5, 6, 9, 13, 23)

2. Kentucky: 136 (3, 4, 8, 40, 81)

3. Florida State: 151 (14, 21, 30, 39, 47)

4. North Dakota: 169 (15, 22, 34, 36, 62)

5. Arkansas: 169 (1, 27, 28, 43, 70)

The other SEC teams that raced this morning were Ole Miss (eighth place), Tennessee (ninth) and Texas (20th).

Mizzou men’s team nabs sixth-place finish in 8K

The Tigers were led by Elijah Limo, whose 23:19 was good for 21st place. Limo has lofty goals for this season, as he is working towards a personal goal of finishing top 15 at the Midwest Regional Championship.

He secured first place at the squad's 6K season opener at Iowa State, but he described the meet as an opportunity to practice and prepare the team's pattern.

Mizzou's Raymond Kipkoech led Limo for most of the race. He wound up crossing the finish line just five seconds later than Limo and captured 26th place.

Their teammate Tyler Freiner placed 38th with his 23:35, and Joshua Allison was the next MU finisher, landing 45th in 23:45. The final scoring Tiger was Joseph Bariola who ended in 106th with a 24:20.

Limo and Freiner got off to a somewhat slow start, and had to play catch up for the back half of the race. At the 2K mark, Limo was in 67th place, meaning he had to hawk down 46 runners en route to his 21st place finish. From his mark, Freiner made up ground on 35 runners.

This strategy is actually purposeful, conserving energy at the start of the race helps the athletes kick hard and take over at the end.

"You usually say, 'Let us run as a team for the first six kilometers, then the last two kilometers let us try to move,'" Limo explained.

After so many practices together, the team gets a great sense of being able to run with each other. Smart teams and athletes will use this to help them set benchmarks of how the race should be going and how to pace themselves.

Forced to run unattached because he must wait three games out of uniform before being able to run for Mizzou, freshman Jean Kipchumba looked incredible. His score did not count for the Tigers, but he would have been their top finisher.

Kipchumba claimed 12th place with a blistering 22:59. That means he averaged a 4:37-mile pace for the almost 5-mile course. He will be able to run for Mizzou next meet, and, had he run today, the Tigers would have snatched third place.

Men's 8K leaderboard

1. Arkansas: 69 (1, 2, 13, 27, 36)

2. Tennessee: 75 (8, 9, 14, 16, 28)

3. Wichita State: 170 (3, 5, 50, 54, 58)

4. Colorado School of Mines: 175 (10, 19, 22, 30, 94)

5. Ole Miss: 202 (4, 24, 49, 59, 66)

Missouri just missed out on this list; it ended the day scoring a 230 and coming in sixth place. Kentucky and Texas, the other two SEC teams, placed 12th and 14th, respectively. 

With just one more regular season meet left, things are falling into place for the Tigers as they get ready for their postseason push.

"Everyone is so focused; we have our own goals, and we are working together as a team," Monica Wanjiku said. "I don't want to be in the same position I was in last year, I love improving slowly."

Missouri will have two weeks of rest before traveling to compete in the Nuttycomb Invitational on Friday, Oct. 9, in Madison, Wisconsin. It will serve as the team’s last chance to right any wrongs before coming back to host the SEC Championship on Oct. 30 in Columbia.