Joplin, Missouri: The Running Eagles of Alice Lloyd College, under the guidance of Coach Brandon Arnold, traveled to Missouri for the NCCAA Division II National Cross-Country Championship meet held at Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course. This year’s host was Joplin Sports Authority and Ozark Christian College.
In women’s action, Bob Jones University took home its second consecutive DII Women’s Cross-Country National Championship. The women’s 5k race featured 64 competitors from 16 schools. The Bruins finished with 26 points and had four runners in the top ten. Alice Lloyd College finished second with 71 points, while Maranatha Baptist University took third with 90 points.
BJU’s Sarah Alferink won the individual title, finishing with a time of 19:26.64. Carlee Salyers of Alice Lloyd took second in 19:30.32, just four seconds off the top spot and two seconds off her school record. North Central University’s Elizabeth Lofstad crossed the finish line in 19:36.34 to place third.
With her runner-up finish, Salyers achieves the highest placement by any Eagle runner in school history.
The other members of the Lady Eagles all managed solid times as well. Abigail Webb (21:04) finished 13th, while Sara Cecil (21:43) was 21st. Suzann Moore (21:55) and Cara Acey (22:19) rounded out the top five.
In addition, Hannah Bryant (22:21), Olivia Inskeep (23:09), Brooke Vanover (23:30), and Kaitlynn Ratliff (23:55) would all push the squad to their runner-up podium finish.
In men’s action, Bob Jones University (BJU) claimed its sixth-straight DII Men’s Cross-Country National Championship. The men’s 8k race featured 15 DII schools with 62 competitors. The Bruins finished with 27 points and had five runners place in the top ten. Alice Lloyd College finished second with 68 points, and Maranatha Baptist University had 70 points to place third.
Jeremy Fopma of Maranatha Baptist won the individual title over 43 DII runners with a time of 26:07. Alice Lloyd senior Ryan Morris finished fourth, breaking the tape in a great time of 27:27.71.
The other runners also showed strong determination. Anthony Hildago finished 9th in 28:53 while Owen Lindsey (29:47) gave ALC their third runner below thirty minutes. Noah Huffman (30:00.94) barely missed that mark himself.
In addition, Micah Blankenship (31:24), Koby Proffitt (31:41), Jacob Bush (33:06), Preston Mullins (35:04), and Jacob Vanhook (35:27) all came through with big performances as well.