The UIU men's cross country team traveled to Joplin, Mo. on Saturday morning for the NCAA Central Regional Championships hosted by Missouri Southern State University. The meet was the last competition the team would race at in their first season as a Division II cross country team, and the Peacocks finished 27th as a team with an average time of 38:06.0. 

No. 6 Missouri Southern defended its regional championship on its home course with 52 points and all five runners placing in the top-20, including Gideion Kimutai who won the individual title with a 29:14.5 race. No. 11 Northwest Missouri State University finished second with 64 points, and No. 7 Augustana University earned the final automatic bid to the NCAA Championships with 76 points.

The Peacocks were led by Dalton Schaffer who set the program mark for the fastest 10K race of the season. Schaffer crossed the finish line in 35:15.6 to place 152nd individually. Grant Dieken finished next for UIU as the junior clocked a 36:19.1 to place 174th, while David Snider placed 184th with a time of 37:10.6. Zach Dingbaum (40:38.8) and Samuel Thomas (41:10.2) rounded out the top-five for Upper Iowa. 

The NCAA DII National Cross Country Championships will be held on Sat., Nov. 23 in Sacramento, Calif. The top-3 men's and women's teams at each of the eight regional championships will compete along with ten additional teams selected as at-large bids.