Joplin, Mo. — Southern Nazarene's cross-country teams traveled to Joplin, Missouri to compete in the NCAA Division II Central Region Cross-Country Championships hosted by Missouri Southern State.


The women finished 30th out of 35 teams competing while the men finished 29th out of 31 teams competing. 


Madelyn Harper closed out her season with a great 6k race as she finished within the top-100 at 78th with a personal record of 22:51.7. Lauryn Downs took her race to another level this year as she cut her 6k time by a whole two minutes from 28:21.8 to 26:40.0. Afeni Rubio also hit another milestone within her racing career as she finished with a personal record of 25:06.2. Others competing were Elora Jones (25:36.8), Hollie Ortiz (27:07.1), and Olivia Cavanaugh (27:21.7).


Zach McAlpin led in front for the men in the 10k event with his 146th finish at 33:35.2. Christian Escritt celebrated with a personal best of 33:54.6 while William Ramirez finished at 35:14.5. Others racing were Jacob Humphrey (36:07.4), Joel Haynes (36:56.1), David Gammas (37:32.1), and Taylor Hawkins (38:07.2).


The Storm finished the 2021 season strong and represented well from Joplin.