By Elizabeth Keen
Mississippi State might not have a nationally renowned women’s cross-country program, but that hasn’t stopped the Bulldogs from showing out to start the season.
The team as a whole has shown steady improvement through its first two races of 2022. Veteran team captain Mary Beth Woodward leads the charge, and she is flanked by a group of 10 freshmen and sophomores who are aiming to change the narrative surrounding the team. The season has only just begun, but the young student-athletes are already showing that they can compete with nearly anyone and improve with experience.
MSU competed in its first cross-country meet of the year at the City Auto Memphis Twilight Classic, a five-kilometer race hosted by Christian Brothers University on Sept. 3. The Bulldogs were hindered by a limited roster but managed to finish the evening in fifth place out of 14 teams with a score of 124 points — a total that is the sum of the top five runners’ individual placements. Redshirt junior Woodward led Mississippi State with a time of 19:11.94, which was good enough for 15th place. Freshman Hunter Anderson finished her first collegiate competition in 19th place with a time of 19:27.19, and fellow rookie Savannah McIntosh crossed the finish line less than two seconds behind her. Zoe Brito, Gracie Gibson and Grace Ritchie rounded out the performance for the team.
The Bulldogs faced difficulties at the North Alabama Showcase on Sept. 16. The team only had four runners able to compete in the 5K race instead of the five needed to fill a complete team roster. The team was no longer eligible to be scored for the race, and the athletes competing were once again younger than the majority of their competition. The adversity didn’t phase them: each runner notched a season-best time as an individual competitor. Madison Jones finished her first meet as a Bulldog in 46th place out of 384 runners with a time of 17:53.68, while Anderson’s time of 18:24.23 bested her time in Memphis by a little more than one minute. Gibson and Ritchie also notched season bests by crossing the finish line at 19:07.05 and 20:05.98, respectively.
The growth that MSU has shown between races is promising for what the future holds. Chris Woods, the head coach over both the track and field and cross-country programs, was pleased with his team’s improvement.
“I think they all ran well,” Woods said to the media following the team’s meet in Louisville. “We look forward to having our full squad back and ready for our next race in a couple of weeks.”
The program’s schedule will only get tougher as the weeks go on. Mississippi State will travel to Louisville, Kentucky for the 21st Annual Live in Lou Cross Country Classic on Oct. 1, then race in the University of Alabama’s Crimson Classic two weeks later. Both events are set to feature major competition from large Division I universities, and hundreds of runners are expected to race. Both meets will be a solid preview of what to expect in the most important competition of the year, which will quickly follow.
On Oct. 28, the Bulldogs will compete in the SEC Championship at Ole Miss in hopes of putting together their best showing in years. MSU was the SEC Runner-Up in 2015 but has not neared the top of the leaderboard since then; in fact, the team dropped to 13th in the conference last season. The team’s placement at the event could help determine whether they reach the NCAA South Regional and, eventually, the NCAA Championship.
With successful underclassmen and the addition of talented freshmen, Mississippi State’s women’s cross-country program is building itself up to have success for years to come. The turnaround might not come quickly, but by aiming for gradual progress the Bulldogs could see themselves becoming more of a force in the SEC.