SAN ANGELO, Texas (Oct. 31, 2020) – All the hard work put in during the preseason by Oklahoma Christian's men's cross country runners showed on Saturday morning during the Lone Star Conference Championship race.

The Eagles led perennial NCAA Division II power West Texas A&M for much of the race and held on for a strong second-place finish on the Angelo State (Texas) course. West Texas A&M posted a team score of 31 to secure its eighth straight LSC title, while OC's score of 72 was well ahead of third-place Texas-Tyler (111) and fourth-place Western New Mexico (140).

It was the best finish in a conference meet for OC since 2016, when the Eagles placed second in the Heartland Conference race. In eight seasons competing at the NCAA Division II level, OC has posted a top-four league finish in every season, highlighted by Heartland titles in 2013 and 2015. The Eagles finished fourth in last year's LSC race in Silver City, N.M.

The Eagles had two runners earn All-LSC honors, which went to the top 15 finishers. Sophomore Colten Brown led for a good chunk of the race and finished fifth, covering the 8,000 meters in 25:20.98, while senior Colton Meyers of Allen, Texas, repeated on the All-LSC list, placing seventh in 25:24.13 – a six-spot improvement over last season.

On a sunny day with temperatures in the 50s, the Eagles placed three other runners in the top 25 in the 114-man field – junior Jelte van Atten (18th in 25:45.48), sophomore Owen Pearce of Kingman, Kan. (19th in 25:47.00) and senior Caleb Bozarth of Bakersfield, Calif. (23rd in 25:56.50).

"Overall, we had a strong team effort," OC coach Wade Miller said. "We had some big performances and were able to take advantage of a good weather day and a really competitive field. We have some work to do before our next race in a few weeks, but we are motivated and excited about the opportunity."

The second-place finish qualified the Eagles for the Division II XC National Invitational in Lubbock, Texas, on Nov. 14, a race scheduled after the NCAA cancelled its fall sports championships. Top teams from the eight NCAA Division II conferences that are competing in cross country this fall will be invited to participate.

On Saturday, OC's top group of runners ran with the lead pack, with Brown breaking away to lead by the two-mile mark. At that point, five Eagles were in the top 10 and led the team race. Brown still was second at the 5,500-meter mark before giving way to three West Texas A&M runners but ended up a solid fifth.

Freshman Nicodemus Rotich of Texas A&M-Commerce was the individual champion with a time of 24:51.00.

Other OC runners in the race included junior Nick Parizek of Oklahoma City (50th in 26:32.21), sophomore Kolten Johnson of Lewisburg, Tenn. (62nd in 26:53.70), sophomore Austin McNair of Denton, Texas (87th in 28:10.68), sophomore Dylan Burrows of Melbourne, Australia (91st in 28:26.01) and senior Brady Aderholt of Vernon, Texas (95th in 28:39.51).

Rounding out the top 10 in the 13-team race were fifth-place Texas A&M-Commerce with 143 points, Dallas Baptist (Texas) with 155, Cameron with 157, Texas A&M International with 204, Lubbock Christian (Texas) with 205 and St. Edward's (Texas) with 219.