Final Results
SPRINGFIELD – The Missouri State women's cross country team finished in fifth place and marked two runners in the top-13 at the 2017 Missouri Valley Conference Championships here Saturday.

The five-kilometer meet was held at the Springfield Underground.

As a team, MSU came up with 122 points, the most by the Bears at the conference meet since 2011.

"To see us move from sixth to fifth and have our best day when it really counted, that is what you want to see as a coach," said MSU head coach Jordan Fife. "Just really proud of the full team effort today and it was a very good step forward."

Senior Jessica Allen paced the Bears to finish in third place overall. Claiming All-Missouri Valley Conference honors. Allen ran a 17:22.06 5K, just 15 seconds behind first-place finisher Lindsey Brewis of Loyola.

"It was good to see Jessie finish in the top three and represent Missouri State upfront," Fife said.

Allen also earned the MVC Elite 18 Award, which is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average that finished in the top-10 of the MVC Cross Country Championship.

Earning All-MVC honorable mention was redshirt freshman Grace Breiten. Breiten marked a 13^th place finish at a 17:58.34 pace.

"Grace Breiten closed like a crazy person in the last 1,000 meters, that made the difference for us in the last kilometer in the team score," Fife said.

Erica Wollmering finished the meet in 32^nd place marking an 18:30.73 5K time, while Jordyn Capra took 35^th place with a time of 18:41.39.

"To see everything finally come to fruition and it finally be meet day was great." Fife said. "The team did a really great job staying relaxed all week. They took care of business in terms of practice and they came in today with something to prove."

The Bears will now turn their attention to the NCAA Midwest Regional meet to be held Nov. 10 in Ames, Iowa.

Missouri State Individual Finishers
3. Jessica Allen – 17:22.06
13. Grace Breiten – 17:58.33
32. Erica Wollmering – 18:30.73
35. Jordyn Capra – 18:41.39
40. Paityn Howat – 18:52.14
56. Madeline Saville – 19:24.30
62. Renae Buschling – 19:34.5
64. Danielle Bohannon – 19:56.96

Team Scores

1. Bradley – 30
2. Northern Iowa – 56
3. Loyola - 93
4. Indiana State – 104
5. Missouri State – 122
6. Illinois State - 136
7. Southern Illinois – 190
8. Drake – 195
9. Valparaiso – 286
10. Evansville – 294

Follow the Bears
For more information on the Missouri State cross country team, visit MissouriStateBears.com or visit the team Twitter @MSUBearsTrackXC and Facebook.