Meet Results (PDF)Â | Season Results | FollowÂ
JOPLIN, Mo.  – Senior Edna Dar once again led the Missouri State women's cross country team here Saturday as the Toronto native posted a five-kilometer time of 17:40.09 to take 15th place overall at the Southern Stampede. In all, seven Bears finished the day with personal bests in just the second meet of the team's season. Â
"Each and every person on this team ran a really great race today," said head coach Jordan Fife. "I'm very happy and proud of them."Â Â
Dar shaved 20 seconds off her previous best which she earned in September 2019. Dar finished in 15th place out of the competitive field.  Â
Sierra Williams and Shelby Palmer were the next Missouri State finishers, both recording season and career bests as Williams recorded a time of 17:59.19 while Palmer raced an 18:30.55, good for 27th and 54th placeÂ
MSU sent 13 runners to compete at the annual race hosted by Missouri Southern, featuring 252 runners in one of the largest meets held in the Midwest. The Bears finished seventh out of the 26 women's teams competing. Â Â
"I don't think that result is really a true indication of how much we accomplished today,"Â said Fife. "It was a really good step today just two weeks after our first meet which we were kind of just OK with. [We] felt like there were some things we could work on, and we saw a lot of results in just that two-week period."Â
Two freshmen were among the next group of finishers for the Bears, with Mary Margaret Harris and Lillie Kaempfe finishing with times of 18:44.90 and 18:53.62, respectively. Sophomore Alex Hamre was another Bear who recorded a huge personal best with a 18:53.62, over 40 seconds better than her fastest time at Missouri State. Â
"We still have a lot of work to do, there's no doubt about it. We don't feel like we have peaked by any means, so to see those times, I think will really motivate the athletes as far as what may still be possible for the season," said Fife. Â
The Bears next outing is at the Chile Pepper Festival, in Fayetteville, Ark., another familiar meet for the program. The 5-kilometer race is set to begin at 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 1, in Agri Park.Â
Team FinishÂ
1. Arkansas (38 points, 3-4-8-11-12 scoring order)
2. Southwest Baptist (130 points, 5-9-36-39-41 scoring order)
7. Missouri State (235 points, 15-27-54-66-73 scoring order)Â
