The Pre-National Invitational at Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia, Mo., showed promising results, as the women’s team placed third overall and the men’s team claimed second. Freshman standout
Monica Wanjiku once again led the way for the women, while senior Drew Rogers paced the men with another strong performance.
Women’s Showcase

On the women’s side, Wanjiku placed ninth overall for the Tigers, finishing with a time of 19:47.9. The women’s race began promptly at 10 a.m. and featured competitors from more than 38 different schools.
“I feel so nice,” Wanjiku said. “ I was just hoping to be in the top 10, and that happened, even though I felt a little bit tired, but I felt so nice.”
At the 2K mark, Wanjiku sat in sixth place with a split time of 6:23.2, followed closely by fellow freshman Mirriam Chepkirui, who clocked 6:26.9. By the 3K split, Wanjiku had moved up a spot, while Chepkirui was at 27th place.
“I feel so good for us to become position three,” Wanjiku said. “We have worked so hard, and it’s the best feeling ever.”
During the second half of the race, Wanjiku dropped slightly to eighth at the 4K mark, posting a split time of 13:07.6. Behind her, Chepkirui crossed at 13:32.1, with junior Rahel Broemmel and freshman Kobi Walker close together at 13:37.0 and 13:37.4, respectively.
By the 5K mark, Wanjiku held seventh at 16:30.2, while Chepkirui, Broemmel and Walker remained tight behind, each within 40 seconds of one another.
At the finish, Wanjiku secured her top-10 position. Broemmel placed 43rd with a time of 20:31.4, Chepkirui finished 45th with a time of 20:32.3, and Walker came in 51st with her time of 20:34.6.
“I know in the next races to come we are going to improve each and every time,” Wanjiku said. “Where I was at the first meet is not where I am now, so I can see great improvement.”
Overall, the women compiled 216 points, closely behind top schools such as Brigham Young University who won the meet and in front of Florida State University who placed fifth overall. With the Tigers solid showing, they aim to carry that momentum into the postseason.
“The best thing for a race is to meet the best people and compare yourself with them and see where you can go with them,” Wanjiku said. “Having strong teams to run with, it’s the best feeling ever, because you challenge yourself.”
Men’s Performance

In the men’s 8K, after placing 43rd at the Gans Creek Classic, Rogers led the way for the Tigers with a 12th-place finish of 23:24.7. The men’s race began at 10:45 a.m., with over 31 teams competing.
“Yeah, it feels good,” Rogers said. “Mostly it was just better mental preparation, [that] was the big key for today. We wanted to get out harder, and we did that.”
At the 2K split, freshman Elijah Limo, Austin Popplewell and Rogers ran together in 11th, 12th and 13th place, all at 5:37.0. By the 3K, Rogers and Limo moved up to ninth and tenth with identical splits of 8:32.5.
During the 4K, Rogers surged to seventh place with his split time of 11:26.8, with Limo close behind in 11th with a split time of 11:28.7. By 5K, Rogers fell slightly to ninth at 14:23.4 while Limo dropped to 14th with a split of 14:27.0.
“I think maybe it bit some of our guys in the butt, the last four or 5k or last three 4k, so it’s a little bit frustrating for the team,” Rogers said. “But to say, us getting second here and being frustrated, I’d say it’s a decent day.”
At 6K, Rogers held eighth at 17:26.1, as Limo followed in 15th with a split time of 17:31.9. In the 7K, Rogers ran ninth at 20:29.2 and Limo 16th with 20:34.6.
In the final stretch of the race, Limo climbed up to 14th overall with a finishing time of 23:25.8. Following Limo, senior Tyler Freiner completed the race in 36th at 23:58.0, respectively. Popplewell trailed behind with his finishing time at 46th place with a time of 24:03.9.
“[Limo] is the hardest worker on the team, and no one has more heart than that kid,” Rogers said. He’s a beast, and I love training him, because he pushes me every day, and it’s a healthy competition. We’re always happy for each other.”
The men finished with 164 points, and Ole Miss placed third with 178. The University of Texas at Austin finished with 183 points, securing fourth overall. It was a strong finish for the Tigers as the men placed in the top two positions of the race, a promising sign as they prepare for the SEC Championship on Oct. 31 in Knoxville, Tennessee.
“We know how good we are,” Rogers said. “ We think that we’re maybe a top 15 team in the country, and I feel like we’ve been showing that. This is the first time in a while that we’ve been in this position, so we’re kind of learning as we go.”
With the postseason up next, the Tigers will face multiple top-ranking teams who will provide lots of competition as they head into courses different from their own.
“In reality, we just need to go back to training, sleep well, do all the right things that we’ve been doing all year, and it’ll come together,” Rogers said.

To read more about the University of Missouri’s Cross Country Team, follow @RockMNation and @SophBleedsLA on X.com.