Super finish between Mizzou, Kansas women highlights NCAA regional cross country meet

Making the NCAA championships has been a goal since day one, Missouri cross country coach Marc Burns said last week.

And for the first time since 2004, the Missouri women’s cross country team accomplished that goal thanks to a victory in Iowa City, Iowa, at the NCAA Midwest Regional.

The meet began at 11 a.m. Friday featuring 33 teams, and after a third-place finish in the Southeastern Conference Championships last week in Fayetteville, Ark., the Missouri women were poised for a good run.

Missouri was again led by junior Karissa Schweizer, who earned SEC women’s runner of the year honors on Tuesday. Schweizer won the 6,000-meter race — her fourth victory of the year — and became the first Tiger to win an NCAA regional championship since Amanda Bales took first in 2003.

Schweizer, who hails from Urbandale, Iowa, edged a Kansas entrant to claim the title in 19 minutes, 54.4 seconds. Schweizer and KU sophomore Sharon Lodeki, of Kenya, dueled throughout the race, separating themselves from the pack around the midway point, and ran neck and neck the last 3 kilometers.

Schweizer sealed the victory with a strong closing kick in the final 400 meters. Lodeki finished in 20:00.7. For KU, it was the best showing for a women’s runner at an NCAA regional since Melissa Swartz’s runner-up showing in 1994.

Both women will run at the NCAA championships on Nov. 19 in Terre Haute, Ind.

MU seniors Nicole Mello and Teylar Adelsberger also contributed to the Tigers’ team victory. The two came in 20th and 21st, respectively. Junior Jamie Kempfer, who earned All-SEC first team honors earlier this year, took fifth.

KU seniors Hannah Richardson and Malika Baker also recorded top-20 finishes: Richardson finished 11th (20:30.2) and Baker 19th (20:44.2). Kansas finished fifth as a team.

K-State enjoyed a strong showing as well, placing 21st among the women. The Wildcats were led by senior Morgan Wedekind, who finished 38th in 21:08.8, and junior Kayla Doll, who placed 83rd at 21:43.1.

The Oklahoma State women placed second as a team, and Iowa State was third.

Chandler Carreon led the UMKC women by placing 73rd in 21:38.4; the Roos finished 26th as a team.

On the men’s side, KU ran to an eighth-place finish paced by sophomore Michael Melgares, who claimed 32nd in 31:00.3. His brother, Chris Melgares, was 35th in 31:03.0. James Hampton placed 49th at 31:17.2.

Missouri placed 10th on the backs of senior runners Drew White (31:01.2) and Ollie Lockley (31:05.3), who placed 33rd and 37th, respectively.

Bryce Miller led the way for UMKC men’s 13th-place showing, placing 53rd in 31:22.7. Quinlan Moll was the second UMKC entrant across the line at 31:35.1 for 64th. Jason Fambrough finished 67th at 31:36.2.

The K-State men finished 18th, paced by a trio of juniors: Colton Donahue (73rd, 31:45.9), Bryan Zack (83rd, 31:59.8) and Lukas Koch (95th, 32:12.8).

Oklahoma State won the men’s team title. Tulsa was second and Illinois was third. The overall men’s winner was Luke Traynor of Tulsa, who finished in 30:18.5 to edge Oklahoma State’s Joshua Thompson (30:18.8).

This story was originally published November 11, 2016 at 3:58 PM with the headline "Super finish between Mizzou, Kansas women highlights NCAA regional cross country meet."