Results Heat 1 White Race (PDF) | Results Heat 2 Red Race (PDF) | Follow
PEORIA, Ill. – The Missouri State women's cross country team competed in its first 6-kilometer race of the season on Friday afternoon, finishing in the middle of the pack at the Bradley Pink Classic.
The Bears top finishers were Edna Dar and Sierra Williams, finishing under five seconds apart in the second heat of the day featuring the team's top runners. Their times of 22:09.4 and 22:13.0, respectively, were both over a minute faster than the lone 6K the team competed in last season. Dar finished in 56th place while Williams ended the day in 62nd place leading the team out of the 286 racers in the second race of the day.
MSU sent 14 runners to compete on Friday, seven in each heat, against 37 schools from across the country. The Bears recorded a team finish of 19th place overall, similar to their 18th place finish the last time racing in the meet in 2018.
"It wasn't quite what we were shooting for today," said head coach Jordan Fife. "We have to execute better in the middle of the race. I did think Alex Hamre ran really well at No. 3. She continues to improve big time, each and every week."
Alex Hamre was the team's third finisher for MSU at the classic, with time of 22:26.0 for the first 6K race of her collegiate career. Shelby Palmer wasn't far behind, finishing two spots after Hamre with a new career best of 22:27.9. Senior Ashley Rolewicz also made strides with more than a minute and a half improvement from the 2020-21 season with a time of 22:59.1 as MSU's fifth finisher.
"We're there physically, but priority No. 1 for the next two weeks will be sharpening up mentally and finding the right approach for the conference championships," continued Fife.
Nebraska (122 points) was the meet champion followed by Iowa (136) and host Bradley (207).
The Bears will get two weeks off to prepare for the Missouri Valley Conference Championships on Friday, Oct. 29 in Normal, Ill. The women will race a 5-kilometer race, set to begin at 2 p.m.
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Missouri State Individual Finishers
Heat 1 (White Race)
43. Margo Nea (24:01.3)
84. Kylie Ghormley (24:42.2)
89. Natalie Clayton (24:46.0)
90. Kayla Voelker (24:46.6)
100. Taylor Holtz (25:03.1)
106. Riley Lourens (25:08.3)
109. Taylor Giger (25:14.5)
Heat 2 (Red Race)
56. Edna Dar (22:09.4)
62. Sierra Williams (22:13.0)
89. Alex Hamre (22:26.0)
91. Shelby Palmer (22:27.9)
153. Ashley Rolewicz (22:59.1)
207. Lillie Kaempfe (22:26.3)
238. Mary Margaret Harris (24:00.9)
Team Finish
1. Nebraska (122)
2. Iowa (136)
3. Bradley (207)
4. South Dakota State (229)
5. South Dakota (242)
19. Missouri State (441)
