OKLAHOMA CITY (Nov. 4, 2021) – Earlier this cross country season, Oklahoma Christian coach Wade Miller entered Oklahoma Christian in the Oklahoma State Cowboy Jamboree, an event in which they raced against NCAA Division I competition.

He did so with an eye on this weekend. OC's women's team will face its toughest field of the season since the OSU race when it competes Saturday at 9 a.m. in the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Championship race, to be run on Lubbock Christian's Chaparral Ridge Cross Country Course in Lubbock, Texas.

Teams from the Lone Star Conference and the high-powered Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference will compete in the race, one of eight across the nation that will determine who will qualify for the Division II Championship race on Nov. 20 in Tampa, Fla. The South Central Region race is arguably the deepest of those eight, with nine of the top 30 ranked teams in Division II in the field.

OC's women are coming off a sixth-place finish in the LSC race two weeks ago in Lawton. That was the Eagles' highest LSC finish ever.

"Regionals always is a great atmosphere, with so many competitive teams," Miller said. "Outside of the Cowboy Jamboree, it will be the highest-caliber meet we have run in so far."

OC's top hope to advance out of the regional race is junior Kenya Bailey of Ponca City. Bailey finished third in the LSC Championship race and has won twice this season. She ran well on the Chaparral Ridge course last November, finishing in 11th in the Division II XC National Invitational held on the same 6,000-meter course that will be used Saturday.

Bailey is seeking to become the second OC runner ever to qualify for the Division II national race, joining Layne Hammer, who did so in 2016. The top two individual finishers Saturday whose teams don't qualify will make it into the national field, with other individual qualifiers from around the nation to be announced by the NCAA on Monday.

"Kenya has put together a great season and has been really consistent in her race mentality," Miller said. "This is a great opportunity for her to race a great field."

With one exception, all seven of OC's runners on Saturday are upperclassmen. Senior Rebeca Morales of Riverside, Calif., was the Eagles' No. 2 runner in the LSC race, with juniors Emma Davison of Mason City, Iowa, Caroline Schwab of Andover, Kan., Payton Duesing of Lantana, Texas, and Janaya McIntosh of Ganado, Ariz., filling spots three through six in the lineup. Freshman Jayme Cole of Muskogee will round out OC's top seven.

At the LSC meet, Bailey, Morales, Davison, Schwab and Duesing each ran a career-best time for 6,000 meters. Schwab and Duesing also ran on the Lubbock Christian course during the invitational race last November.

OC's highest finish in a Division II regional meet is 13th, in the 2016 race in Denver.

"We have had some great performances from others on the team throughout the season and are excited to work to put everything together on Saturday," Miller said.

The race will be streamed on the Lone Star Conference Digital Network at https://lonestarconferencenetwork.com/lcu/?bfplayvid=305975. Live stats for the race can be found here.