JOPLIN, Mo. -- The University of Sioux Falls Men's and Women's Cross Country Teams will attempt to continue their respective seasons when they compete Saturday, Nov. 9 at the NCAA DII Central Region Championships. Live scoring and results will be available by clicking here.

The Cougars will compete at the Missouri Southern Cross Country Course with the women's 6k race starting at 10 a.m. and the men's 10k race following at 11:15 a.m. The top-three teams from both the men's and women's races earn a berth to the NCAA DII National Championship, Nov. 23 at the Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento, California.  

The USF Men's Team, which has been ranked nationally as high as seventh in DII, will try and rebound after a third place finish at the NSIC Championships. The Cougars, which is led by a senior-dominated squad, had a few tough breaks at the meet held at Wayne, Neb., and will look for a better result. The USF Women's Team which placed eighth at the conference meet will also look for improved performance at regionals.

After winning the NSIC title a year ago for the first time in school history, USF Men's Team advanced to the NCAA DIIs nationals for a second straight year and fourth time overall with a third place finish at the NCAA DII Central Region Meet. USF claimed a program-best fifth place at nationals after senior Mason Phillips earned his second straight All-American honor. At regionals, Phillips was fifth, and Zach Lundberg, eighth, in the individual competition a year ago. With NSIC champion Steven Brown finishing 18^th, the Cougars placed four in the top 20.
 
At the 2019 NSIC Championships, the Cougars were paced by senior two-time cross country All-American Mason Phillips, a native of Bailey, Colo., who finished the day with a time of 25:16.52 for a second place finish, earning Phillips All-NSIC First-Team honors for the third straight year. At the NSIC Meet, Phillips was second or better (champion in 2017) for the third straight year. Joining Phillips, who was the NSIC Preseason Men's Athlete of the Year, in the Top 10 and NSIC First-Team was senior Zach Lundberg who clocked 25:52.99 for fifth place. Lundberg also earned first team honors for a second straight year. Senior Dan Armstrong, who was 14^th in 26:27.56, earned second-Team All-NSIC honors. Senior Steven Brown, who was the defending NSIC Champion, rounded out Cougars in the Top 30 with a finish of 27:03.50 for 29th place. Other Cougars to earn points were sophomore Shodo Mahamed (42nd - 27:31.88), senior Billy Beseman (49th - 27:43.30), and freshman Wyatt Schlager (55th - 27:58.43).

USF earned fourth trip to NCAA DII nationals a year ago
Led by a fifth-place individual finish by Mason Phillips, USF placed third at the 2018 NCAA DII Central Regional. The Cougars recorded its second-best result ever at regionals (2014, 2^nd), scored 113 points and finished behind two other nationally-ranked teams in No. 13 Missouri Southern, the team champion at 55 points, and No. 14 Augustana with 73.  USF, Missouri Southern and Augustana advanced to the national championships. It was USF's second straight trip to nationals as they qualified in 2017 when they were fifth at regionals and earned an at-large berth.  The Cougars advance to the DII Championships for the fourth time (2013, 2014, 2017, and 2018). At the regional USF placed four runners in the top-20 (5-8-18-20) as Phillips finished fifth in a career-best 30:19.6 across 10,000 meters. Three years ago, Phillips won the Central Regional title; and recorded his second top-five finish at the 2018 regional. At the DII national meet in 2017, he earned All-American honors with a program-best 15h place finish. As a team USF was 27^th at nationals in 2017 with the 2013 team finishing 18^th and the 2014 a program-best eighth. Zach Lundberg, who was 30^th at the mid-point of the regional race, finished eighth with a career-best clocking of 30:38.2 seconds. Lundberg, who had his personal-best in the 8,000 meters at the conference meet, bettered his previous 10K time of 32:25.1 by 1:47.1.  NSIC champion Steven Brown recorded his second-straight top-20 finish at regionals with a clocking of 31:01.9, which cracked his personal-best 10K in cross country of 32:14.9. Phillips, Lundberg, and Brown earned all-region honors in 2018. Also for USF, junior Billy Beseman was 62^nd in 32:18.1 while junior Dan Armstrong finished 70^th in 32:26.5 as he also bettered his career-best at 10K of 33:58.4. Freshman Shodo Mahamed ran his first-ever 10K and finished 93^rd in 32:57.4.

Women's Breakdown at the 2019 NSIC Championships
At the NSIC Meet, a young USF squad was paced by senior Montana Belford, who finished in 20th with a time of 23:10.02., as she picked up All-NSIC Second-Team honors.

Freshman Lauren Wells was the second Cougar to cross the finish line, completing the race with a time of 24:17.22 (50th place). Rounding out the Top 5 finishes for the Cougars were sophomore Sarina Lindell (58th - 24:40.32), freshman Annika Aho (60th - 24:43.27), and sophomore Maria Streed (73rd - 24:59.01).

The USF Women's Team, which has never advanced as a squad to nationals, will look to better the 16^th place finish of two years ago and 17th last year. USF's top finish in the women's regional is 13^th in both 2012 and 2013. To this point, Sierra Harder has had the best individual finish of 10^th in 2013. USF was also 19^th in 2014, 17^th in 2015, and 17^th in 2016.

A year ago at regions, the USF Women's Team finished 17^th. Of the returners competing Saturday, Belford had the best finish a year ago at 110^th with a time of 23:56.3. She was followed by Maria Streed, 118^th, 24:07.5; and Sarina Lindell, 131^st, 24:22.9.