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University of Central Missouri Athletics

Hall of Fame

1995 Mules Cross Country Team

  • Class
  • Induction
    2001
  • Sport(s)
    Mules Cross Country
1995 Mules Cross Country Team
The 1995 Mules' cross country team, coached by Kirk Pedersen, is considered one of the most dominant teams in the program's history. The Mules won the MIAA championship, starting a string of five straight league titles, with a team score of 20 (15 is a perfect score), the best winning team score in the MIAA in 22 years. They claimed the top four individual places [Jonah Melly, Alexandr Alexin (pronounced Uh-LEX-in), Eliasa Tanui (pronounced E-lee-AH-suh Tuh-NOO-ee) and Martin Fysh (pronounced FYE-sh)] in the MIAA meet and their fifth runner (Nate Stroot) placed 10th. Pedersen was MIAA coach of the year.

At the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, the Mules finished third to qualify for the Division II Championship at Spartanburg, S.C. Paced by four top 20 finishers (Alexin 5th, Melly 10th, Tanui 12th and Fysh 19th), the Mules placed second at the Division II Championship with 98 points. At the time, that was the best national finish ever for a Mules' cross country team. Since that 1995 season, the Mules also have had a second-place finish in 1997.



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