**CLINTON, Miss.** — The Mississippi Christian men's and women's cross country teams turned in strong performances on their home course Friday morning at the Watson Cross Country Classic, with the women finishing second and the men placing third at Choctaw Trails.
The meet featured a large field of collegiate programs from across the region, with both Choctaw squads using the competition as another opportunity to prepare for the upcoming postseason.
The Mississippi Christian women finished second overall with 83 points, narrowly edging Union (Tenn.), which finished third with 86 points. Ouachita Baptist claimed the team title with 45 points.
Sophomore Catherine Wallace led the way for the Choctaws, finishing fourth overall with a time of 22:28.8. Audrey Mayatte followed with a 16th-place finish in 23:23.3, while Ava Wardlaw crossed the line in 18th at 23:30.3.
Freshman Elena Palacios continued her strong season, finishing 23rd in 23:38.4. The Choctaws placed four runners among the top 25 overall, helping secure the runner-up finish in a competitive field.
On the men's side, Mississippi Christian finished third overall with 94 points, just six points behind second-place Ouachita Baptist. Union (Tenn.) captured the team title with 78 points.
Freshman Hudson Copeland led the Choctaws with a 14th-place finish, crossing the line in 25:45.7. Gabriel McElwain followed closely behind in 19th with a time of 25:51.6.
Carson Smith finished 21st in 25:56.2, while Baxter Friedman and Matthew Singletary rounded out the scoring five with times of 25:57.3 and 25:58.0, respectively.
The Choctaws displayed impressive depth throughout the race, placing all five scoring runners within 13 seconds of one another. Caleb Whipp and Colin Brannon also finished inside the top 30, crossing the line in 26:01.5 and 26:04.7.
For several of the Choctaws' regular top-seven runners, Friday's meet served as a final sharpener ahead of next weekend's competition in Huntsville. With the postseason approaching, the focus was on getting another race effort under their belts while continuing to build toward the Gulf South Conference Championships.
With another home meet in the books, Mississippi Christian will now turn its attention to next weekend's trip to Huntsville, Alabama, for its final competition before the Gulf South Conference Championships.
Both squads will look to build on Friday's performances as they prepare for the championship portion of the season.
