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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Led by its core top-3 finishers, the Missouri State women's cross country team raced at the Chile Pepper Festival here Friday afternoon, finishing in the top third of a competitive field at AGRI Park.
Senior Edna Dar was MSU's top finisher for the team's third meet in a row, racing a time of 17:45.4, only five seconds off her career best 5-kilometer time. She finished in 39th place out of the field of 322 runners.
Sierra Williams and Shelby Palmer once against finished in succession for the Bears in 66th and 68th place. Williams ran a time of 18:07.2 while Palmer shaved over twenty seconds off her former career best earned two weeks ago at the Southern Stampede, racing a time of 18:08.1.
Missouri State sent 14 runners to compete on Friday. The annual race held by the University of Arkansas featured multiple heats and hundreds of athletes. The Bears ended the day in 13th place out of 39 teams in the second heat held at 5 p.m.
"I thought we held our own with some really good programs today. To be roughly in the top third of that field says we're doing some things right," said head coach Jordan Fife.
MSU's fourth finisher, Alex Hamre, ended the day in 98th place with a time of 18:30.6, another personal best from her previous one recorded two weeks earlier. The next Bears finishers were freshman Mary Margaret Harris and senior Ashley Rolewicz, ending the race with respective times of 18:46.9 and 18:49.8.
"We had some great breakthrough races from Shelby, Alex, and Ashley at the 3-4-6 positions and more consistently solid performances from the rest of our top 7," said Fife. "I like where we're headed at this point but there's still more work to do with the conference meet quickly approaching."
The host school, Arkansas, was meet champion, with four runners finishing in the meet's top-12, good for a team score of 45 points.
The Bears will get a week off before their next outing at the Bradley Pink Classic. The meet, hosted by conference opponent, Bradley, will be held on Friday, Oct. 15 at 1:30 p.m. in Peoria, Ill.
Missouri State Individual Finishers
39. Edna Dar (17:45.4)
66. Sierra Williams (18:07.2)
68. Shelby Palmer (18:08.1)
98. Alex Hamre (18:30.6)
124. Mary Margaret Harris (18:46.9)
132. Ashley Rolewicz (18:49.8)
152. Lillie Kaempfe (18:59.3)
198. Margo Nea (19:26.4)
221. Natalie Clayton (19:44.0)
222. Kayla Voelker (19:44.1)
246. Kylie Ghormley (19:58.1)
258. Riley Lourens (20:12.4)
278. Taylor Holtz (20:44.4)
Team Finish
1. Arkansas (45 points)
2. LSU (132 points)
3. Nebraska (185 points)
13. Missouri State (374 points)
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