MONTEVALLO, Ala. – The Mississippi College men's and women's cross country teams are set to compete at the NCAA Division II South Region Cross Country Championships on Saturday, November 4 at the University of Montevallo Cross Country course in Montevallo, Alabama. The women start the competition with the 6K run at 8:00 a.m., while the men will close out the action at 9:15 a.m. with the 10K run. This meet will serve as a qualifier to the 2023 NCAA Division II National Cross Country Championships to be held in Joplin, Missouri on Saturday, November 18. 

Live Results

Choctaws Make History at '23 GSC XC Championships 

The Choctaw Women

•  Bre Bell

•  Emily Berry

•  Haley Hall

•  Jazmin Russell

•  Josie Whipp

•  Lauren Wallace

•  Norma Gutierrez

•  Taylor Benoit

The Women's 5k Field (23)

• Alabama-Huntsville, Albany State, Benedict, Central State, Christian Brothers, Edward Waters, Embry-Riddle, Florida Southern, Fort Valley State, Kentucky State, Lane, Lynn, Lee, Mississippi College, Montevallo, Morehouse, Nova Southeastern, Palm Beach-Atlantic, Shorter, Spring Hill, Tampa, Tuskegee, West Alabama

The Choctaw Men

•  Baxter Friedman

•  Braedon Methvin

•  Cole Benoit

•  Cooper Parmer

•  Jan Lukas Becker

•  Preston Speed

•  Wyatt Whipp
 

The Men's 8k Field (25)

• Alabama-Huntsville, Albany State, Benedict, Central State, Christian Brothers, Clark Atlanta, Edward Waters, Embry-Riddle, Florida Southern, Fort Valley State, Kentucky State, Lane, Lynn, Lee, Lynn, Miles, Mississippi College, Montevallo, Nova Southeastern, Palm Beach-Atlantic, Shorter, Spring Hill, Tampa, Tuskegee, West Alabama, West Georgia

• Saturday marks the first-ever time the NCAA Division II South Region Cross Country Championships will be held in Montevallo, Alabama. 
• The qualification process is that the top three teams earn an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division II National Cross Country Championships. Teams outside of the top three will be considered for at-large bids to be selected by the NCAA on Monday, November 6. Additionally, the region will take at least three individuals from non-qualifying teams from each region, as well any individual that placed inside of the top five.
• Jan Lukas Becker enters as the reigning champion where he set a new NCAA Division II South Region Championship meet record in the 10K whilst also breaking a longstanding school record. The five-time GSC Champion went on to place eighth overall at the national meet. 
• Jazmin Russell, formerly Jazmin Hernandez, earned an at-large bid to last year's NCAA Division II National Cross Country Championships after placing seventh at the regional meet. The Georgetown, Texas native went on to place 114th overall. This was Russell's second trip to the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships after leading the Lady Choctaws to a 23rd place team finish in 2021. 
• Becker, Braedon Methvin, and Preston Speed were on last year's men's squad that placed second overall, earning an automatic berth to the 2022 NCAA Division II National Cross Country Championships. 
• Bre Bell, Emily Berry, Haley Hall, Jazmin Russell, Lauren Wallace, and Norma Guiterrez were all part of last year's women's team that placed fifth overall at the 2022 NCAA Division II South Region Cross Country Championships. Additionally, Bell, Berry, Russell, Guiterrez, and Josie Whipp were featured on the lineup that competed at the 2021 NCAA Division II National Cross Country Championships. 
• Becker has been the leader this season for Mississippi College men's team, achieving accolades such as two-time GSC Runner of the Week, the USTFCCCA National Runner of the week, and breaking the school record in Men's 8K run.
• The Men's team will be looking for its third straight national championship berth after finishing third in 2021 and second in 2022. They are ranked third in the region heading into competition, as well as 28th nationally.
• The Lady Choctaws enter the competition ranked third in the region and 23rd nationally. 
• Lauren Wallace paced the Lady Choctaws at the 2023 Gulf South Conference Cross Country Championships with a runner-up finish, breaking the 5K(XC) school record in 17:24.8. Additionally, Wallace led the women's team to a 5k team average of 17:53, their first-ever sub-18 5K(XC) team average in program history. 
• Bre Bell and Jazmin Russell earned 1st-Team All-GSC, while Emily Berry, Taylor Benoit, and Josie Whipp secured second-team All-GSC.
• Moreover, Jan Lukas Becker placed runner-up at the 2023 Gulf South Conference Cross Country Championships, leading Braedon Methvin to 1st-Team All-GSC and Cooper Parmer and Cole Benoit to 2nd-Team All-GSC, good enough for a third-place overall team finish. 
• Methvin's recent 8K performance at the GSC Championships of 24:09 was good enough slot him as the fifth fastest Choctaw to ever run the 8K(XC) distance. 
• The top 25 individuals that cross the finish line will be named to the 2023 NCAA Division II All-South Region team