INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The NCAA committee announced the participants for the 2023 Division II Cross Country Championships and junior Sophia Strange was selected to compete as an individual next weekend.
The meet will begin at 11:00 am CST on Nov. 18 at the Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course in Joplin, Mo.
The news comes after Strange recorded a seventh-place finish at the Central Regional Championships last Saturday. She completed the 6K course in a personal-best time of 21:00.19 to earn All-Region honors from the USTFCCA while pacing OBU to a 13th finish among 31 squads.
It was the best placing from an Bison runner since Emma Downing finished seventh at the 2021 Cross Country Central Regional Championships.
Strange will be the lone women's representative from the Great American Conference as no other team or individual qualified for the national event.
It'll be the first appearance for a Bison at the NCAA National Championships since 2021. That season, Downing competed and placed 81st overall. Since joining the NCAA, the best OBU time and finish at nationals was Abby Hoover's 21:28.6 in 2017, which placed 31st of 247 runners.
Also of note, the last time Oklahoma Baptist sent a team to the championships was in 2018. It was their second consecutive appearance after qualifying in 2017's inaugural season at the Division II level.
Below is a list of past Bison participants at the DII National Championships:
2021
Emma Downing (Individual) – 22:00.00, 81st
2018
Team Finish – 16th (484 points)
Kaylee Crowson – 71st, 24.06.7
Sydney Lawrence – 95th, 24:21.5
Emily Sechrist – 115th 24:30.5
Berkley Price – 129th, 24:42.9
Allison Derry – 169th, 25:19.1
Tessa Potter – 177th, 25:27.7
Emma Downing – 194th, 25:38.9
2017 (Inaugural NCAA DII season)
Team Finish – 20th (523 points)
Abby Hoover - 31st, 21:28.6
Sydney Lawrence – 40th, 21:43.0
Emily Sechrist – 115th, 22:41.2
Tesa Potter – 183th, 23:24.6
Daisy VanMeter – 230th, 24:46.8
Megan Allen – 232th, 24:53.0
