Joplin, MO - On Thursday, the NCCAA Championships were held for men's and women's cross country. On the men's side, three Eagles competed in the race that featured 82 runners finish the race. The championship race was an 8k meet held at the Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course. 

Senior Chase Porsche placed 20th in the race with a time of 26:55.1. That time is one of Chase's better times in his career. It is narrowly behind his time of 26:33.4 that he posted earlier this year at the Gil Dodds Invite. With his finish, Chase was the top individual qualifiier in the race. 

Junior David Peterson placed 30th in the race with a time of 27:32.2. That time is David's second best 8k time in his career. A few weeks ago at the CCAC conference championships, he posted a 26:46.0 time. 

It was outstanding running by both David and Chase to record times that are among their personal bests. 

Freshmen Ricardo Duran also competed in the event. He placed in 75th position with a time of 32:30.5. But for a freshmen to qualify for the national race, it is a nice achievement, and perhaps a sign of things to come in his career. 

The winning time of the race was clocked in at 24:32.9 by Tanner Bailey from the College of the Ozarks.