Joplin, Mo. -- The seventh-ranked Missouri Southern men's cross country program lived up to the ranking today as the Lions were the top non-Division I school in the 25th running of the First to the Finish Southern Stampede held on the MSSU Cross Country Course.
The Lions trailed just Division I Oklahoma and fifth-ranked Arkansas in the overall team totals. OU, Arkansas and Tulsa would compete in a tri-meet as Division I rules state Division I teams must be scored against other Division I schools.
Junior Eric Schott followed up his National Runner of the Week performance from two weeks ago, trailing just Arkansas runners and taking the individual title amongst non-Division I runners. The Cape Girardeau, Mo. native ran the 8k course in a time of 24:22.58.
Jake Benton placed third with a time of 24:40.51, while Colton Wooldridge was 18th and Nathan Henry was 25th. Freshman Tyler Rush placed 32nd, while Ryan Jackson was 72nd and Drake Smelser was 125th.
Southern dominated the non-Division I schools, defeating 23rd ranked Southwest baptist by 49 points (105-56). Pittsburg State was third, while Harding and Missouri S&T rounded out the top five schools.
Oklahoma scored 31 points, narrowly defeating Arkansas as the Razorbacks had 32 points.
The Lions will be back in action on October 5, as Southern will travel to Fayetteville to compete in the Chili Pepper Classic at the University of Arkansas.
