Schedule:
9:00am: Collegiate Women’s 5,000-meters (3.1
Miles)
9:45am: Collegiate Men’s 8,000-meter (4.97 Miles)
10:30am: Awards Ceremony
Competing Teams:
Women’s Race - Central Arkansas, UMKC,
Missouri State, Morehead State, Oklahoma State, Oral
Roberts, Wichita State and Evangel.
Men’s Race - Central Arkansas, UMKC,
Morehead State, Oral Roberts, Wichita State and
Evangel.
Facility: Located on the surface of the
Springfield Underground, Inc. Missouri State’s cross
country facility is among the finest in the Midwest
for championship style meets. Opened in the fall of
2007 the course features an all grass loop style
layout with routes for every common race distance
from 5K to 12K. With a starting line capable of
holding 40 teams, an over 600-meter straightaway
before the first turn, and a running path that is at
least 15-meters wide throughout the course meets,
and in most cases exceeds, all NCAA championship
standards. The facility will be the host of the 2008
Missouri Valley Conference championships and is also
slated to host the 2009 NCAA Midwest Region
Championship.
The Course: The course has two different
loops that are repeated to reach the race distances.
The "short loop" is 2,000-meters and is an oval
around the outside of the course. The "long loop" is
2,850-meters achieved by completing most of the
outer oval as well as a path inside the outer oval.
There is a 300-meter stretch across from the end of
the loops into the finish line.
Admission: Free.
Parking: Parking is directly next to the main
spectating areas.
Spectating 101: In cross country it is common
for spectators to themselves race across the course
to see the runners up close as many times as
possible. While this is allowed at MSU’s course the
less intense spectator can make there way to the
near middle point of the course and view virtually
90% of the race without any significant walking.
Spectators are encouraged to wear athletic shoes,
shorts or athletic pants and their favorite MSU
t-shirt so they can comfortably move around the
course. Spectators should be careful when walking or
running off the racing path as the grass may be
taller and the terrain may be uneven. Spectators may
not run next to the runners or to give them any
assistance during the race (such as water, or a
push). Please look both ways when you cross the
running path and stay behind the cones as runners
pass. Distance markers for Kilometers and Miles are
posted on the course. Blue signs are for the men’s
course and red signs are for the women’s course.
Scoring: In cross country the team with the
lowest point score wins. Points are awarded to
individual runners based on their finish place. For
example, first place scores 1 point, second place
scores 2, and so on. The points of the first five
finishers from each team are added to make up the
team score. The sixth and seventh runners on a team,
often referred to as "pushers" or "displacers",
score displacement points, pushing the point total
of their opponents finishing behind them higher.
Additional runners on a team after seven are left
out of the scoring. A "Perfect Score" or the best
possible score is 15 (1+2+3+4+5). This is achieved
when the top five finishers overall are all from the
same team.
Timing / Results: The runners time and finish
place is recorded using computer chips attached to
the runners shoes. As runners cross the finish line
a signal is sent from the runner’s chip to a
computer. This allows for quick production of
results. Results and scores will be posted near the
finish line after each race. Results will also be
online after the races at www.BearsTrack.net.
Directions to MSU’s Course:
Located on the corner of Division St. and Highway
65.
