• 2009 Cross Country Schedule Link
• 2009 Printable Schedule (PDF)

Micah Conkling (left) and Trey Crawford (right) will look to lead the way for the Pirates in 2009.

PARKVILLE, Mo. – Entering his 19th season as Park University head cross country coach, Brian Renshaw features a 2009 cross country schedule that is packed with premiere meets and is highlighted by the Park University Invitational that will take place on October 3 in Platte City, Mo.

“We are very excited for the upcoming cross country season and I am personally excited for the opportunity for Park University to host a cross country meet this fall,” Renshaw said. “We haven’t hosted a meet in many years and we hope to bring in some competitive teams and hope to make this an annual event.”

The Pirates will kick off the 2009 season with the Jayhawk Invitational on September 5 in Lawrence, Kan. hosted by the University of Kansas. Park competed in the Invitational last season with the women’s squad placing fourth and the men’s team finishing sixth.

The next meet on the slate for Park is the Southern Stampede on September 19, hosted by Missouri Southern State University. The Stampede is one of the premiere meets in the state of Missouri and features over 1,000 participants throughout the weekend of the competition.

The Park University Invitational will take place on Saturday, October 3 in Platte City, Mo. This is the first time Park has hosted a home competition in the 19 years Renshaw has been the head coach of the program. Details regarding timing of the event and location will be available as soon as it is determined.

Park will return to the Haskell Invite on October 10 for the second year in a row. Haskell Indian Nations University is the host school of the event and the Pirates ran well in last year’s competition with the Men’s team finishing second and the women’s squad taking home fourth place.

The final regular season meet of the year for the Pirates will take place on October 24 at the Graceland Invite in Lamoni, Iowa. Park did not compete in the Invite last season but will look to utilize the meet for postseason preparation in 2009.

Park’s postseason will begin on November 7 as they compete in the American Midwest Conference Championship, hosted by McKendree University on November 7.

Park will begin its first season back in the American Midwest Conference in 2009 after previously holding membership in the AMC from 1993 to 2000, exiting the league following the spring semester in 2000.

“The AMC is a very competitive conference for cross country and we are thrilled to be back competing with those teams,” Renshaw said.
Park will look to send both the men’s and women’s squads to this year’s NAIA Championship meet which takes place on November 21 in Portland, Ore.

Park sent five members from the women’s team to last seasons National Championship meet in Kenosha, Wisc., including Romona Nicolls, Keyon Harrison, Maria Tutu, Erycka Fisher and Melinda Jansen. The five member team placed 25th overall.

For all information regarding Park University cross country in 2009 please visit www.parkathletics.com.

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