Tiger men place first, women fourth at Missouri Southern Stampede

Taking part in one of its largest meets of the season, the No. 5-ranked Cowley College men and women's cross country teams had a successful weekend at the Missouri Southern Stampede Saturday in Joplin, MO. The Tiger men placed first out of 15 teams, while the Lady Tigers finished fourth.

The Tiger men placed first ahead of Baker University as they had the top-two finishers at the meet. Sophomore Adrian Diaz-Lopez won the 8K race with a time of 24:40.3 and finished less than a second ahead of Tiger teammate Amos Pkiach.

"Amos and Adrian crushed it and just cruised it in together," Cowley head coach Cameron Rieth said.

Overall, the Tiger men placed eight runners in the top 16.

"We wanted to make a statement, and I think we did just that," Rieth said. "We had a solid group of orange working together and continuing to press the pace. We will need to continue to close that gap between the top two and the rest of our guys though."

With Baker University placing first on the women's side, the Lady Tigers were led by sophomore Karissa Glover's fifth place individual finish with a time of 19:03.5 in the 5K race.

"I was thoroughly impressed by our ladies this weekend," Rieth said. "Things have been really coming together in practice for most of these girls. So it was only a matter of time before it clicked on race day. It was a major step forward, but we still have a long ways to go."

Allika Pearson of John Brown University won the women's race with a time of 18:06.6.

Cowley will return to action Saturday, October 2 when they take part in the University of Arkansas Chili Pepper Invitational.

"The goal is to not settle and to just keep getting better and stronger together," Rieth said. "This was a great step in the right direction and we need to continue to build and do the little things to stay healthy."

Cowley results:

MEN

(1) Adrian Diaz-Lopez, 24:40.3; (2) Amos Pkiach, 24:40.3; (7) Santiago Nunez, 26:47.8; (9) Joel Rodriguez, 26:55; (11) Aidan Wells, 26:58; (12) Xoel Rodriguez-Abad, 26:59.2; (14) Goran Duijsters, 27:09.7; (16) Caleb Liermann, 27:12.5; Dawson Crawley, 27:40.4; (34) Corbin Liermann, 27:59.2; (39) Jacob Coronado, 28:12.2; (42) Aaron Medrano, 28:17.5; (52) Muneer Suied, 28:43.1; (56) Edwin Olvera, 28:52.4; (69) Dylan Roe, 29:33.9.

WOMEN

(5) Karissa Glover, 19:03.5; (12) Kristen Wilson, 19:54.3; (20) Delicia Boothe, 20:18.3; (34) Abigail Pinnock, 21:08.8; (45) Yasmin Reyes, 21:38.9; (46) Asaris Dandicourt-Goire, 21:43.9; (89) Karstyn Nolan, 26:09.6.