LUBBOCK, Texas (Nov. 14, 2020) – Having faced adversity all season, Oklahoma Christian endured a bit more this week, as a once incredibly deep field for the Division II XC National Invitational – against which the Eagles eagerly anticipated competing – shrunk as a handful of top-notch teams opted not to compete in the race.

But there were enough strong teams remaining in what proved to be an 11-team field that it proved to be a quality experience for the Eagles. OC finished sixth on the challenging 10,000-meter Chaparral Ridge Cross Country Course at Lubbock Christian (Texas) to cap a bizarre season in which the Eagles steadily improved despite often racing on unfamiliar courses against unfamiliar opponents due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Four Eagles finished in the top 35 in the 89-man field, led by sophomore Colten Brown of Boise City, Okla., who was 23rd overall (with a time of 33:04.16) to make the All-Invitational team.

"Colten Brown ran a strong race to lead us and has done a great job of racing tough all year," OC coach Wade Miller said. "We had a solid team performance today. I'm proud of the way the team has worked this year and gained experience through adversity.

"Though not a true national meet, this year the strength of the field was somewhat similar to what we usually see at the South Central Region race and it was important for us to race over the 10K distance. I am looking forward to seeing this group continuing to grow!"

The meet was organized not long after the NCAA announced it would cancel its fall-sports championships but would allow the 23 Division II conferences to compete this season if they so chose.

Eight conferences did so and four of them – the Lone Star Conference, Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association and Gulf South Conference – were represented Saturday, although several national powers from the RMAC (Division II's top cross country conference) bypassed the race.

On a crisp, breezy morning – a haboob passed through Lubbock less than two hours after the race – the Eagles' top four runners finished only 28 seconds apart. After Brown, sophomore Owen Pearce of Kingman, Kan. (26th in 33:15.91), senior Caleb Bozarth of Bakersfield, Calif. (31st in 33:24.42) and senior Colton Meyers of Allen, Texas (35th in 33:32.15) crossed the line in short order.

OC's No. 5 runner was junior Jelte van Atten of Leiden, Netherlands, who finished 58th in 34:12.90. The Eagles' other two runners were junior Nick Parizek of Oklahoma City (73rd in 35:18.65) and sophomore Kolten Johnson of Lewisburg, Tenn. (78th in 35:31.40).

The Eagles' team score of 153 was just six points behind fifth-place Nebraska-Kearney of the MIAA. Alabama-Huntsville of the Gulf South won the meet with 46 points, with Colorado Mesa and Lone Star champion West Texas A&M both with 77 points. Colorado Mesa won the tiebreaker for second place. Fort Lewis (Colo.) of the RMAC was fourth with 123 points.

OC, which was the LSC runner-up, beat four league rivals – Texas-Tyler, Texas A&M-Commerce, Western New Mexico and Dallas Baptist (Texas) – along with MIAA member Washburn (Kan.).

Tony Torres of Colorado Mesa took top individual honors, winning with a time of 31:37.68.

Start of the race: https://youtu.be/ap6DhgWL8Lk 

OC runners cross the finish line: https://youtu.be/VoMpJe99H3E