LUBBOCK, Texas – Black Hills State cross country traveled down to northwest Texas on Saturday morning for the NCAA Division II South Central Regionals meet, with both squads finishing in 14^th at the meet.
 
Both Yellow Jacket squads had younger athletes competing in their first NCAA post-season experience during Saturday's events, with the freshman and first-time Regional runners posting their first at the NCAA level and seeing marks of improvement in the process.
 
"Overall, we're very excited how the freshman handled their first 10k (men) and regional race," said BHSU Director of Track and Field and Cross Country, Brian Medigovich. "The women's team did well for being understaffed due to illness... both teams still finished in the top half of the 30 teams [in Lubbock] that started the race in the hardest region in the nation."
 
MEN
The BHSU men completed the race with a combined time of 2:42:39.53 and a team average of 32:31.91.
 
Tim Brown (30:54.86) recorded the first Yellow Jacket finish for the men as he finished in 29^th, securing a personal best 10k run in his performance as well.
 
Hayden Grosz (32:40.84) was the next Yellow Jacket to finish as he took a finish in 80^th to post another BHSU improvement on the day. Lincoln Fleischman (32:43.65) shaved a near minute off his career 10k mark to place 83^rd.
 
Jaxon Straus (33:09.59) and Marcos Valerio (33:10.59) were within one second of each other to place 100^th and 101^st, respectively. Both athletes posted their first collegiate 10k times in Saturday morning's race.
 
Alberto Spotted (33:22.57) and Aydan Loya (33:42.82) also made collegiate 10k debuts on Saturday and clocked out of the race in 109^th and 115^th, in respective order.
 
Colorado Mines averaged 30:09.98 and finished first with a total time of 2:30:49.9 and 43 points, while Adams State and West Texas A&M placed second and third for the top three men's teams.
 
WOMEN
The Yellow Jacket ladies timed out with a team total of 2:42:43.45, averaging 32:31.91 as a team in the women's 6k.
 
Sylvia Brown (21:19.21) led the way for BHSU as she secured a 22nd-place finish, beating out a previous career mark of 21:35.8 as well as her previous South Central Regionals time of 22:35.8.
 
Alexis Weiers (23:36.91) was the second Yellow Jacket to cross the finish line, checking out in 92^nd while Katelyn Krieger (23:40.44) finished 96^th.
 
Norah Entzi (24:30.659) landed in 116^th while Sierra Hopp (24:44.64) completed the race in 124^th to round out the BHSU ladies.
 
All Yellow Jacket women saw improvement at the Regional meet, with this race being the second 6K run by most of the younger BHSU athletes.
 
The top three teams from the women's race were all Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference teams, with Adams State taking the team victory with 44 points. Colorado Mines and Western Colorado, with 76 and 111 points, respectively, rounded out the top three in second and third.
 
Up Next
The 2023 cross country season will wrap up on Saturday, Nov. 18 with the NCAA Division II Cross Country National Championships in Joplin, Missouri. Team veterans Sylvia and Tim Brown's qualification for the NCAA DII Nationals will be determined on Monday.