Tampa, Fla. – The 10th-ranked Missouri Southern men's cross country team came away with a 13^th-place finish and a pair of All-American's as the Lions competed at the 2021 NCAA Division II Men's Cross Country Championships hosted by Saint Leo University at The Abbey Course.
 
JP Rutledge finished sixth with a time of 30:33.5 over the 10k course, while Ryan Riddle was 20^th in a time of 30:58.9. Both runners earned All-American honors in the process.
 
Riddle opened up the race with the lead pack, but eventually fell back midway through. He, however, made a late surge and moved up 24 places in the final 2,000 meters. Rutledge stormed up the standings late and surged through the top-ten in the final 1,500m, jumping four places in the final stretch.
 
Jarod Ozee placed 76^th in a time of 32:13.1, while Riley Simpson finished in a time of 33:10.4. Zach Finley crossed the line just ten seconds later (33:20.1), while Landon Fatino (34:12.0) and Kevin Koester (34:52.3) rounded out the Southern runners.
 
Southern finished with 372 team points, good enough for 13^th. It is the team's 16^th top-22 finish in the last 19 years.
 
Grand Valley State won the team title with 43 points, followed by Adams State at 84. Colorado Mines was third, followed by Augustana, Colorado-Colorado Spings, Wingate, Western Colorado, Chico State, Lewis and Colorado Christian to round out the top-ten.