SPRINGFIELD -- Missouri State's women's cross country team will wrap its regular season Friday afternoon when the Bears compete at the Bradley Pink Classic in Peoria, Ill.
MSU is one of 32 Division I teams entered in the meet, which will be a six-kilometer course. The Red Race, involving all Division I teams, begins at 3:30 p.m., while the White Race, involving additional runners from the Division I entries as well as Division II and NAIA entries, starts at 2 p.m. The Bears will have six competitors in the Red Race and seven in the White Race. Both races will have team scoring.
Head coach
Jordan Fife said his team is ready for the longer course and the higher level of competition as his squad continues to prepare for the Missouri Valley Conference meet, Oct. 29.
"I think this is a good meet for us to be competitive in," said Fife. "Even with the high-caliber teams up front, we can be competitive in that next group. There are quite a few teams we can be ahead of which would be a tremendous confidence boost headed into conference."
Fife noted the course is longer and quicker, which should fit well into his team's preparation.
"The six-kilometer distance is different," he said. "But we've trained more for that this year than in the past. The course is super fast, so we can really push ourselves and hopefully put up some good times."
Among the top teams in the women's field are regionally-ranked squads from the Great Lakes Region -- No. 4 ranked Indiana, No. 10 Toledo and No. 13 Dayton – as well as Midwest Region ranked No. 6 Missouri, No. 7 Illinois, No. 9 South Dakota, No. 11 Iowa, No. 13 Bradley and No. 15 UNI.
Last time out, eight of 11 Missouri State runners set personal bests at the Chile Pepper Festival meet in Fayetteville, Ark., as the Bears finished 12
th in the Division I field.
Jessica Allen posted a 5k time of 18:05.8 to lead MSU's efforts.
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