NORMAL, Ill. – Led by a breakout performance from Sierra Williams, the Missouri State women's cross country finished in the middle of the pack at the Missouri Valley Conference Championships here Friday afternoon.
The Bears' sophomore raced a career best 6-kilometer time of 21:55.8, placing 15th out of the 76 conference competitors. The time was almost 20 seconds better than her previous personal best, recorded two weeks earlier at the Bradley Classic. Ten spots behind her was Alex Hamre ending the day with a time of 22:22.3. Hamre's time was also a personal best, four seconds better than her previous race.
Missouri State sent eight runners to the championships to compete against the conference's nine other teams. The Bears recorded a team finish of sixth place overall, matching their finish from the 2020 season.
Edna Dar and Mary Margaret Harris rounded out the Bears' top-four at the rainy, Friday afternoon race, with times of 22:34.2 and 22:53.4, respectively. Dar finished the day in 34th place, while Harris, racing over a minute faster than her lone 6K time, finished in 43rd.
"Sierra had a great race today and did a good job of leading us with her All Conference Honorable Mention finish," said head coach Jordan Fife. "Alex and Mary Margaret stepped up and had their best races of the season when it mattered most. The race conditions were certainly challenging but I thought we handled them well."
Loyola was the MVC cross country champions with 36 points while Bradley and meet host Illinois State finished behind them with 62 and 90 points, respectively.
The Bears will get two weeks off before they conclude their season at the NCAA Midwest Regional hosted by the University of Iowa. The meet will kick off on Nov. 12 at 11 a.m. and will be held at the Ashton Cross Country Course.
Team Finish
1. Loyola (36 points)
2. Bradley (62 points)
3. Illinois State (90)
4. Southern Illinois (109)
5. Drake (127)
6. Missouri State (159)
7. Indiana State (160*)
8. Northern Iowa (160*)
9. Valparaiso (275)
10. Evansville (278)
