CHADRON, Neb. – Chadron State's cross country programs will compete in the NCAA South Central Region Cross Country Championships this Saturday in Denver, Colorado at Washington Park. The men's 10k race will take place at 10 a.m., followed by the women's 6k race at 11:15 a.m.
 
The Eagles will be looking to improve on last season's finishes of 12^th place by the men and 16^th place by the women. Colorado School of Mines is the defending region champion on the men's side while Adams State are the defending women's champions.
 
The South Central Region men's race will feature seven teams that are ranked in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) top 30. The women's race will feature 10 top-30 programs.
 
Graduate student Kyle Shirley is Chadron State's top returning male athlete from last year's NCAA South Region Championships, finishing 124^th with a time of 34:05.0. The women's top returning runner is sophomore Samantha Rodewald who finished 95^th with a time of 23:40.2 at last year's region championships.
 
At the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships last weekend, the men's team finished 14^th while the women finished 12^th. The Eagles also took home the RMAC's top academic award when Shirley was named as the conference's Summit Award winner for having the highest GPA of any championship student-athlete.
 
Shirley was the first Eagle across the line in the men's 8K with a time of 26:56.0, followed by sophomore Wyatt Bly who finished 88^th clocking in at 27:13.9. Bly has been the first Eagle to finish in two of the four meets this season.
 
CSC's top five runners throughout the season alongside Shirley and Bly are junior Blaine Johnson, who was Chadron State's top 8K finisher in Colorado Springs with a time of 26:51.1, junior Miles Mitchell (season best of 28:43.82) and sophomore Adam Beard (season best of 29:41.9).
 
The women's team had an impressive performance where all runners recorded a career best. The 12th-place finish is the highest finish at the RMAC meet for the women's cross country program since the women placed ninth in 2017. At the RMAC meet, Rodewald was the first Eagle to finish with a time of 22:21.2, followed by junior Lydia Peters, who ran 22:32.1.  Senior Alissa Wieman (season-best 23:05.1), freshman Kyndall Carnahan (season-best 23:55.4) and sophomore Katelyn Beshara (season-best 23:57.7) also figure to place.
 
Teams and individuals hope to qualify for the NCAA Division II National Championships in Sacramento, California on November 23. The top three finishing teams for men and women will automatically qualify for nationals from each of the country's eight regions. Ten at-large teams will be selected by the NCAA Division ll Men's and Women's Cross Country Committee.
 
The top two individual runners from teams that do not qualify automatically go to nationals. Eight more individual at-large runners will be selected by the NCAA.