ST. LOUIS – The Missouri State cross country team brought home a first-place finish at the Billiken XC Invitational on Saturday.
 
Mia McLain led the Bears with a first-place finish. McLain finished the 5k race with a time of 18:04.1. Second place was seven seconds behind McLain. This was the first collegiate win for the senior.
 
"We came into the meet with the one goal of winning as a team," McLain said. "This morning was a group effort and being able to contribute to the win is such a special feeling. I am very proud to be a Bear today!"
 
The rest of the scorers for the Bears finished as a pack. Mary Margaret Harris (18:28.8) was the next Bear to cross the finish line in fifth. She was followed closely by Ella Cronhardt (18:33.6) in sixth then Margo Nea (18:40.9) in seventh. Emily Nuttal (18:44.2) rounded out the scorers in eighth.
 
Thirteen Bears competed in the Invitational. Cronhardt and Nuttal both set new personal collegiate records with their finishes.
 
"Today was a really good day for our program. Saint Louis got us by a few points last meet, so we knew it was going to be a battle," head coach Jordan Fife said. "The team has been working really hard for this. There's a lot of positive energy within this group right now."
 
For their next meet, the Bears are heading out of state on Sept. 29 for the Arkansas Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Ark. The 5k race will start at 4:30 p.m.