MSSU men's cross country wins Southwest Baptist Invite, Southern women take second

(From MSSU Lions Athletic News)

Bolivar, Mo. - The Missouri Southern men won and the women were second as the Lions' cross country teams opened up the 2018 season at the Southwest Baptist University Invite today.

The Southern men placed five runners in the top five and all seven runners in the top-25 to take home the team title with 33 points, 12 points in front of second-place Washburn. Southwest Baptist was third, followed by Missouri S&T, Columbia College, Central Missouri, Drury, Evangel and College of the Ozarks.

Freshman Gidieon Kimutai placed second overall, traversing the 7k course in a time of 22:39.88. Cody Berry, Josh Webb and Michael Shanahan placed 6th, 7th and 8th, respectively. Berry and Webb both placed in a time of 23:08.18, while Shanahan was directly behind them in a time of 23:08.89.

Nathan Painter was tenth in a time of 23:16.94, while Tadd Capron placed 14th and Kevin Koester was 24th.

The Southern women nearly took home the team title as the Lions placed second, just three points behind first-place Southwest Baptist. Drury was third, followed by Missouri S&T, Washburn, Central Missouri, Columbia College, College of the Ozarks and Evangel.

Ashlee Kuykendall led the charge for the women with a fourth-place finish over the 5k course in a time of 18:56.49. Kellie Henderson and Julianna Determan placed 11th and 13th, respectively with times of 19:25.74 and 19:31.61.

Alice Evans was 19th, while Mady Gepford and Janna Hautala placed 27th and 30th. Sarah Peoples placed 42nd.

The Lions will be back in action on September 15 when Southern plays host to the Missouri Southern Stampede on the Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course.