Missouri cross country left Saint Louis with a pair of runner-up team finishes Friday, and both squads did plenty of damage up front at the Billiken XC Invite.
The women set the tone in the 6K, finishing second with 48 team points behind host Saint Louis. Morgan Yeomans delivered the best Mizzou individual result of the day, placing third overall in 23:03.3. The Tigers kept pressure on the front of the race from there, with Maleah Eggers taking seventh in 23:40.3 and Elissa Barnard following in eighth at 23:49.8.
Natalie Barnard finished 15th in 25:15.6, and Lily Ginsberg closed out the scoring in 21st at 27:20.4. All five Mizzou runners landed inside the top 25 among 39 finishers.
The Tigers were without Monica Wanjiku, Kobi Walker and Suzy Lecoutre, giving the rest of the roster a chance to log race reps as postseason prep continues.
On the men’s side, Missouri matched that runner-up result in the 8K, finishing with 55 points. Emmanuel Kiprop made a strong first impression in his Mizzou debut, leading the way with a fifth-place finish in 27:31.1.
Ethan Lee and Joshua Allison were right behind him, going back-to-back in eighth and ninth place. Lee crossed in 28:01.3, while Allison finished in 28:01.7. Joseph Bariola and Ethan Hogan completed the scoring for the Tigers, both clocking 30:39.3 and placing 19th and 20th, respectively.
All five Mizzou men finished in the top 20 of the 36-runner field, but Saint Louis took the team title on its home course.
The men were also missing Elijah Limo, Raymond Kipkoech and Tyler Freiner, leaving room for veterans and newcomers to show what they could do.
Mizzou returns home for the annual Gans Creek Classic on Friday, Sept. 25, in Columbia, Mo. It will be the Tigers’ first home meet of the season.
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