JOPLIN, Mo. – The University of Central Missouri Cross Country teams competed in the 37^th annual Missouri Southern Stampede on Saturday, Sept. 19, from the Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course, in Joplin.
 
The Jens placed in the top-five as a team out of 24, scoring 164 points in the 5k race, highlighted by a pair of top-20 finishers in sophomores Marianna Bizon (13^th place with a time of 18:12. 90) and Jordyn Brown (18^th-place finish with a time of 18:24.40).
 
Marietta, Ga., native Yolanda Brooks placed 35^th, crossing the finish line in a personal-best time of 18:58.91, while freshman Falon Hudson ran the race in 19:30.59, good enough for 58^th position, before Lake Winnebago, Mo. native Madison Cross rounded out the scoring for the Jens with a time of 19:37.56, earning 66^th-place.
 
The team title went to the Missouri Southern Lions, who scored 43 points, followed by Pittsburg State (50 points), Tulsa (53 points), and Southwest Baptist, which finished just above the Jens with 121 points.
 
The Mules finished in sixth-place out of 28 teams, scoring 185 points in the 8k race, highlighted by a pair of top-25 finishers in fifth-year Alejandro Malave (16^th-place with a time of 25:00.82) and Sedalia, Mo. native Clay Pilliard (23^rd-place with a personal-best time of 25:20.71).
 
Freshman Mason McDaniel (44^th place with a time of 25:50.71), Fort Worth, Texas native James Romo (57^th place in a personal-best time of 26:04.96), and senior Colby Adams (79^th place with a time of 26:31.73) rounded out the scoring for the Mules.  
 
Pittsburg State won the team title on the men's side, scoring 56 points, followed by Missouri Southern (77 points), Missouri S&T (89 points), Missouri Western (108 points), and Crowder Community College, which placed fifth with 112 points.
 
Central Missouri returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 10, for the Brian T. Simpson Invite, with the men's 8k race beginning at 9:00 a.m., and the women's 5k race to follow at 9:45 a.m. from the Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia, Mo.