ENMU's Lelei falls short in cross country regional

WARRENSBURG, Mo. — Eastern New Mexico University junior Nimrod Lelei just missed qualifying for NCAA Division II national cross country competition on Saturday, placing ninth overall in the South Central Region meet hosted by Central Missouri.

ENMU’s men finished 13th out of 17 teams overall, while the women came in 15th out of 19 full teams.

Lelei ran a time of 32 minutes, 22.4 seconds over 10 kilometers. He was third among runners from non-qualifying teams, one spot short of qualifying.

Cameron’s David Chirchir was fifth in 31:46.2, while East Central’s Koby Styles earned the second at-large spot by placing sixth in 31:56.5.

Junior Mariana Chavira finished 42nd for the ENMU women with a time of 23:36.8 over 6K.