The Southern women finished just nine points behind the Lady Backs and had an average time of just 12 seconds slower. Senior Kimi Shank placed second, while senior Ashley Bunch was third. Another senior, Courtney Waltbillig was sixth, while freshman Marlee Tegenkamp and senior Silvia Pineda were 11th and 12th, respectively. Junior Olga Bulgarova was 13th, while freshman Dora Eastin was 14th.

Shank ran the 4k course in a time of 14:03.9, a full 13 seconds faster than a year ago. Bunch improved her time by a full 1:16 from a season ago, while Pineda knocked off nearly two minutes from her previous time.

In men's action, junior Isaac Garcia placed sixth with a time of 20:57.9 over the four mile course. Senior Dustin Dixon was seventh, followed by senior Brennan Benkert (8th) and junior Josh Mathis (9th). Freshman Sam Pougue was 12th, while sophomores Derek Mendell and Jake Crocker were 13th and 14th, respectively.

Garcia was running in his first event for the Lions since the 2007 National Championship. That year, he was an All-Region performer for the Lions in helping the team to a Regional Title. Dixon was also running in his first cross country meet since that very same race where he broke his leg in the final 1,500 meters, but still managed to finish high enough for All-American status.

The Southern men will travel to Central Missouri next week, while the women have a week off. Both teams will be back at home for the annual Southern Stampede on September 19.