On Saturday, November 14, Missouri State will host the 2009 NCAA Midwest Regional for Cross Country. The regional will feature some of the top running talents from across the Midwest. Men and women will both be competing, with the men running an 10K at noon and the women following that with their own 6K.
Though the talent featured in the men's race will be great across the board, some of the athletes stand as a cut above the rest:
Last year's Midwest regional champion, junior Hassan Mead of the University of Minnesota, returns to defend his title. Mead won the Big Ten championship for the second consecutive year with a time of 25:00.02 on an 8K course. Mead's best time for the 8K this season is 23:49.00 recorded during the NCAA Pre-Nationals.
To unseat Mead, Oklahoma State is sending their top foursome of Ryan Vail, German Fernandez, John Kosgie and Colby Lowe. These runners have dazzled the Big 12 all season, finishing the year with a 1-2-3-4 finish (Vail, Kosgie, Lowe, then Fernandez) at the Big 12 championship. In the race, the 1-4 split time for the cowboys was a scant four seconds. Kosgie, Fernandez and Vail all competed in the 2008 Regional with Kosgie taking third, Fernandez taking fifth and Vail in sixth. The four athletes have also put up very impressive top times in the 8K for the season. Kosgie's time of 23:53 in the 8K at Cowboy Jamboree has been the best time posted by the group, but Lowe is close behind with a time of 23:54 in the same race. Fernandez and Vail achieved their best times at the Big 12 Championship, posting 24:57 and 24:50, respectively.
The Big 12 hosts not only the Oklahoma State Cowboys, but also the Iowa State Cyclones and the Oklahoma Sooners, who are bringing top talent of their own. Iowa State's Guor Marial finished the Big 12 championship immediately after the Cowboy foursome with his time of 25:05. Marial, however, did finish before conference rival Vail in the Pre-National meet, where Marial finished with a time of 24:06 in the 8K race. The Sooners are bringing their top runner in Kevin Swab. Swab finished sixth in the Big 12 Championship, posting a time of 25:08, which is also his best time of the season.
There is also a trio of outstanding athletes from mid-major conferences that are looking to bring home hardware. At the top of this list is John Beattie from the University of Tulsa. Beattie ran in last year's regional and placed fourth. This season, Beattie finished first in the Conference USA Championship with a time of 24:23. Beattie competed in the competitive Notre Dame Invitational, where he posted a time of 23:51.00. The Missouri Valley Conference has two athletes with outstanding achievements. Jeff Shirmir is an experienced harrier from Southern Illinois, who placed ninth in last year's regional. In this year's campaign, Shirmir finished second in the Valley Championship, but turned in a top time of 24:07 in the Notre Dame Invitational. The runner who ended up winning the Valley Championship, Scott Krapfl, hails from Illinois State. Krapfl finished 28th in last year's regional, but hopes to better that mark this season. Krapfl's best time in the 8K this season has been the 24:23 he turned in at the Notre Dame Invitational.
The 2009 NCAA Midwest Regional will prove to be a cornucopia of running talent. Races will begin at noon on Nov. 14 in Springfield, Mo. All events will be held at Missouri State's Cross Country Facility at Springfield Underground. For more information on the regional, visit http://www.missouristate09.com/.
