For the second year in a row the UMKC cross country team competed in the Forest Park Festival in St. Louis, Missouri, and for the second year in a row they left with a first place finisher.
In 2014, it was Courtney Frerichs who took the first place spot in the women’s race, and this year, sophomore Bryce Miller finished in the top spot with a 15:36 time in the 5K race.
“It was great to come away with a first place finish,” Miller said. “It makes it even better that it was so early in the season and against a rival team like Missouri. I think overall, our men’s team ran a solid race for what kind of shape we are currently in. After a few more weeks of good training, I think our team will be able to show our true capabilities at some competitive meets and ultimately win a WAC championship.”
The men’s race was a battle to the end, with Miller edging out a pack of three Missouri runners by five seconds. Just 12 seconds separated spots one through seven, and fellow ‘Roos sophomore Quinlan Moll took home a sixth place finish with a time of 15:48.
The race was in dual scoring format, and the men’s team beat SIUC and Saint Louis University, and barely lost to rival Missouri.
“It was a competitive race and I was pleased with our effort,” distance coach Brett Guemmer said. “I think this was the closest we have raced with Missouri in quite a while, so that is a good thing to see. With a 30 second spread from our one through seven, our guys are looking pretty good. We are definitely ready to move on to an 8K.”
Though the ‘Roos ran the meet last season, the course was moved to a new location in the park, adding to the challenge of the meet. The women’s team beat SIUC and SLU, but were narrowly bested by the likes of Missouri and Western Kentucky.
Junior Sarah Fogarty led the women’s squad for the second week in a row and finished the race 15 second faster than last season, even though the course seemed to be slower for most runners this year than last. Her 18:33 finish placed sixth, just a second out of a top-five finish.
Sophomore Chandler Carreon was one runner that saw the effects of the new course, finishing four seconds slower in this year’s Forest Park Festival compared to last, but she took 20 seconds off her 5K time from the opening meet of the 2015 season, the Bob Timmons Classic, to finish in 10th place with a time of 19:01.
“We have a solid team this season,” Carreon said. “Everyone is working hard every day to be their best. We’ve been training through these first meets and our bodies are just now getting used to harder workouts. I am excited to see where it will take us, come time for the conference meet. We’ve got our hearts and minds set on some big goals.”
Freshman Tabitha Griffith was ready to step up and help meet those goals, as she saw a significant improvement on her time from the first meet of the season, shaving 31 seconds off her time to finish the race in 19:18, good enough for a 15th place finish.
“I was really happy with both teams tonight,” Guemmer said. “The course seemed to be a bit slower this year compared to previous years, but we still had good performances. The ladies are continuing to improve, and I think the guys turned some heads tonight.”
“It was a good competition,” head coach Shameika McField said. “Our goal was to be able to train through, but also to challenge each other. The women represented well, and growth was definitely evident. The men also had a great showing, they ran very strong together, especially with it being a shorter distance.”
The ‘Roos return to action on September 26 when they head north to Minneapolis, Minnesota for the Roy Griak Invitational hosted by the University of Minnesota.