JOPLIN, Mo. –
Maxamillian Wheeler paced the Oklahoma Baptist men's cross country team to a 14th-place finish at the NCAA Division II Central Region Championships on Saturday morning at the Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course.
East Central won the event with 40 points, registering two in the top-five finishers. Pittsburg State (112), Northwest Missouri State (125), Washburn (126), and Missouri Southern rounded out the top teams.
Wheeler's time of 31:24.05 placed 24th of 196 runners, good for a USTFCCCA All-Region nod.
Finishing second for the Bison was
Emery Crayton's mark of 32.17.18, which placed 55th.
Carson Kardokus trailed in 71st after running a 32:39.31, while
James Williams (33:15.93) finished right outside the top 100 at 107th.
OBU's remaining runners were the following:
Rogers Kiplagat (121st, 33:42.92),
Peter Turner (183rd, 36:11.79), and
Ethan Banks (190th, 36:57.78).
In addition to the top three team finishers of each region, ten at-large teams will be selected by the NCAA Division II Cross Country selection committee.
Individual qualifications for nationals are as follows:
- The top two individuals who are not part of a qualifying team will automatically advance to the championship finals (16 individuals total).
- All individuals who finish in the top five at the regional meet and are not part of a qualifying team will automatically advance to the championships finals.
- The next eight individuals will be selected at-large.
