Missouri men’s cross-country took 10th place in the NCAA Midwest Regionals this Friday in Iowa City, Iowa. Its ranking this year was a small improvement over its 11th place finish last year.

However, the men will not advance to the NCAA Championships.

The team finished 50 points behind ninth place Oklahoma, as defending winners Oklahoma State took first again. Both Oklahoma State and second place Tulsa will move on to represent the Midwest Region at the NCAA Championships.

Before the race, the men were ranked No. 8 in the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Midwest rankings.

The Tigers were once again led by redshirt senior Drew White, who finished 33rd with a time of 31:01.2. This continues his streak of finishing first for men’s Mizzou cross-country in all his races this fall.

Running near White was senior Ollie Lockley in 37th place with a time of 31:05.3. This is a tremendous improvement from his performance in last year’s NCAA Regionals, where he finished 107th.

The rest of the men fell significantly behind. Redshirt sophomore Zach Cook ranked 81st and redshirt junior Sheldon Keence ranked 93rd.

Redshirt freshman Michael Widmann was the 103rd person to cross the finish line, rounding out the top five Mizzou runners. Widmann has had an impressive debut season, earning all-SEC Freshman honors in the SEC Championships. He was the 17th-fastest freshman runner out of the 87 who ran in the NCAA Regionals.

This marks the end of the postseason for Missouri men’s cross-country. Men’s track-and-field will begin competition Jan. 7 at Iowa City, Iowa.

_Edited by Peter Baugh | pbaugh@themaneater.com_