JOPLIN, Missouri – The Ouachita men's cross country team wrapped up its season with a top 20 finish at the 2024 NCAA DII Central Region Championships Saturday morning.
 
The Tigers finished 17^th out of 31 teams with a score of 483 points. Ouachita placed fourth out of the seven competing GAC Teams.
 
Whit Lawrence was the top runner in the 10k for the Tigers, placing 78^th with a time of 32:26.55.
 
Gabriel Metoyer was next across the line in 84^th place with a time of 32:32.53, followed by Jaelen Becho in 88^th (32:41.54), Dylan Dew in 113^th (33:09.10), and Evan Armitage in 120^th (33:20.13) round out the top five finishers for Ouachita.
 
GAC Champion East Central repeated as the 2024 Central Region Champion, winning with a score of 71 points. Harding came in sixth with 177 points, followed by Oklahoma Baptist in 8^th (291), Ouachita in 17^th (483), Northwestern Oklahoma in 19^th (517), Southern Arkansas in 25^th (717), and Southern Nazarene in 31^st with 964 points to round out the competing GAC teams.
 
The Tigers close out a successful 2024 season that included three meet wins, taking first place in the Bob Gravett Invitational, West Florida's Argonaut Invitational, and the Tiger Invitational. Ouachita also added a fourth-place finish at the GAC Championships to total four top five finishes across the six meets this season.