The wait is almost over. Missouri’s head distance coach Kyle Levermore spoke with reporters Monday, Aug. 10, to preview a 2026 season he believes could be the turning point both the men’s and women’s cross country programs have been building toward.
A Healthy Start
Unlike most years, the cross country squad has not even had their first practice yet, as the runners return this weekend, with their first official practice next week. Although this is true, their delayed start comes with a silver lining: a fully healthy
roster heading into the fall.
“Everyone’s healthy, which is great,” Levermore said. “That’s a huge positive coming into a year, especially coming off the year we had last year. You know, not just the physical growth of the team, from a performance perspective, but I think how much that took, out of everyone emotionally, to come out of that with a fully healthy team, I’m pumped.”
Building Off a Breakthrough
Mizzou’s turn hosting an NCAA-level stage in Columbia last season left a mark on the program, particularly on the women’s side, where Levermore stated the group has turned a new chapter.
“I feel like this is probably the first time since I’ve been the coach here that we’ve come into a season returning a whole team of of people that actually know what it takes to be at the national level,” Levermore said. “And to be in the top five in the SEC and and we return almost everyone.”
Alongside that experience, his athletes have returned as a group that does not need every step of the way mapped out for them from the coaches, but from themselves.
“They’ve done it before, and I think that takes a little bit of the emotional, unknown part out of it,” Levermore said. “It helps them just focus on what actually needs to be done.”
Raising the Ceiling
Levermore pointed to transfer student Evyn Humphrey, a Wentzville native and recent Tulsa transfer with three years of eligibility. Humphrey managed to qualify individually for nationals last season, which will hopefully provide the Tigers with one of the biggest additions to the program.
“To add someone of her quality into the group, and have had that experience, and have had it in her home state on her home course, even though she was wearing a different uniform, someone like that is huge, you know, to bring into the group,” Levermore said.
Beyond the fellow newcomers, Levermore cited returning progress from Kobi Walker, Mirriam Chepkirui, Charlotte Cullen and Rahel Broemmel. Walker enters her season off of a first place finish at the 2026 Gold Coast Airport 5km, Cullen enters the season with two huge personal bests this summer and Broemmel had a strong summer in Europe, highlighted by a stellar run at the German National Championships.
“We’re better than we were coming into last year,” Levermore said. “So I don’t know what that means for the women’s team. I don’t know what that ceiling is, but yeah, it’s it’s pretty high. And I think that I’m not going to be shy and say we want to give a run at this title on our home course this year.”
The Next Step
Mizzou broke a nine-year drought by reaching the national meet last year, but the men’s squad did not make the trip. Now, Levermore says the goal is climbing up to the top-three of the SEC and getting both the men’s and women’s teams to nationals, something the Tigers have not done simultaneously in 27 years.
“We had a really bad day on the wrong day, but that kind of heavy failure is something that sometimes young groups need, and I think on the women’s side you have the opposite where they followed the plan. They saw what it took. They got the experience.”
Fewer Home Meets, Same Focus
Gans Creek will host two meets this fall instead of last year’s four, one being the eighth annual Gans Creek Classic, and the other being the notable SEC Cross Country Championships. The team is skipping the Mizzou season opener to instead travel to Ames, Iowa, to previous the course that will host the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships in November.
“The reason we are not hosting the Mizzou opener is because of our preparation,” Levermore said. “We need to go see the course at Iowa State for regionals, and so that’s the reason for us not hosting that this year.”
This will give the Tigers a chance to run the Iowa State course in September, without the pressure of the postseason, before they see it again at regionals.
Key Dates and Final Remarks
The Tigers will host the Gans Creek Classic Friday, Sept. 25 in Columbia, and the SEC Cross Country Championships Friday, Oct. 30, also in Columbia. Both meets should give the squad plenty of chances to build momentum, and a chance to show off their talent in front of a home crowd.
With a healthier, more experienced roster than ever, the Tigers have given themselves every chance to make this their breakthrough year.
To read more about Missouri’s Track and Field team, follow @Rock MNation and @SophBleedsLA on twitter/X.
