JOPLIN, MO. – Led by seniors Mason Phillips and Steven Brown, who both recorded career bests, the University of Sioux Falls Men's Cross Country Team finished fifth (146 points) at the NCAA DII Central Regional Championship on Saturday. The USF Women's Team, led by senior Montana Belford's 54^th place finish, finished 16^th with 470 points as they moved up a spot from a year ago.

Phillips recorded a 30:17.08 to finish fourth in the 10K race as he bettered his previous best of 30:19.6 at the 2018 regional meet. Senior Steve Brown also recorded his best performance with a clocking of 30:18.66 and captured fifth overall. As a result, both runners advanced to the NCAA DII nationals on Nov. 23 at the Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento, California. USF did not advance to nationals as a team but could qualify as a wild card when the national field is announced next week.

Also for the USF Men's Team, senior Zach Lundberg was 16^th in 31:13.56 as the Cougars placed three in the top 16. Also for the Cougars, senior Daniel Armstrong was just off his career best with a clocking of 32:26.62 and 59^th place while senior Billy Beseman was 63^rd in 32:31.54. Two others, Shodo Mahamed was 97^th in 33:19.45 while Wyatt Schlager was 112^th in 33:39.34.

Missouri Southern finished first in the men's race with 52 points and were led by the top individual finishing Gidieon Kimutai at 29:14.42. Northwest Missouri State was second with 64 points followed by Augustana, third, 76; Fort Hays State, fourth, 144, and USF in fifth.

"We had a very good day by both of our teams," said USF Head Cross Country Coach Doug Petersen. "Our women's team had a solid performance and I am really proud of their effort today. It was a really exciting meet for them. The men's team ran as well as we could with a number of career-best performances. We did what we needed to and I am also very proud of their efforts," he said.

USF Women's Team was led by senior Montana Belford, who finished the 6K race 54^th in a personal-best of 22:55.41 (22:57.6, Augustana Twilight, 2016) and moved up 46 spots from a year ago. Led by Belford, USF finished 16^th with 481 points as they moved up a spot from 17^th in 2018. USF was also 16^th in 2017.

Freshman Lauren Wells was 95^th in her first regional race with a clocking of 23:37.68. Sophomore Sarina Lindell was 109^th in 23:43.43 while freshman Annika Aho was 111^th in 23:57.13 and sophomore Maria Streed, 112^th in 23:58.63. In addition, two freshman Karlee Simmons was 120^th in 24:13.50 while Cassidy O'Meara clocked a 24:43.64 to finish 149^th.

Augustana won the regional with 41 points and edge fellow NSIC member Mary, who second with 50 points. Ida Narbuvoll was the medalist in 20:08.11.