Joplin, Mo. – The Missouri Southern Cross Country program will again serve as the host for the NCAA Division II Central Region Championships in 2023, as the men's and women's races will take place tomorrow at the Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course.
 
The women's 6k race begins at 10 am with the men's 10k race starting at 11:15 am. Live results will be available for the meet and a link to the results can be found in the story links section above.
 
The Southern men won last year's event as a team, and also had the top runner in Gidieon Kimutai. With his first place finish, Kimutai finished nearly 10 seconds before the second place finisher. In the MIAA Championships a couple of weeks ago, the men's team placed fourth. Kimutai earned All-MIAA honors with a third place finish, and Jaden Deaton and Kaden Cole were honorable mention All-MIAA finishers. 
 
At last year's regional event, the women's team finished 12th as a team. This season, the women won their first race, took third at the Southern Stampede, the second best NCAA DII finish at the Chile Pepper Festival, and second at the MIAA Championships. Their 65 points at the MIAA Championships were only 8 behind first place. Jenari Lopez and Lilah Genel both earned All-MIAA honors, and Riley Vickrey and Kyla Weems were each named All-MIAA honorable mentions.
 
The top three teams from each race will automatically advance to the NCAA Division II National Championships, also in Joplin on November 18. The top two individuals that are not part of an advancing team as well as anyone in the top-five that are not part of an advancing team will also advance. The NCAA Cross Country committee will also choose ten at-large teams and eight individuals to fill out the Championship field.
 
The Championships will be run on November 18 in Joplin, Missouri as part of the Division II Festival. The race will be contested at the Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course, hosted by the Missouri Southern Lions.