Morningside’s men’s cross country team finished 13th at the 2014 NAIA Cross Country National Championships.

Morningside’s men’s cross country team finished 13th in the team standings at the 2014 NAIA Cross Country National Championships held Saturday at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kan.

The Mustangs, who were ranked 12th nationally in the final regular season NAIA Men’s Cross Country Coaches’ Poll, finished nine points out of 12th place behind Indiana Wesleyan University. Thirty-six teams competed for the team title, which was won by defending champion Oklahoma City University.

Morningside’s top individual finisher was Alec DeVries, a sophomore from Merrill, Iowa, who finished 33rd with a time of 23:39.10 over the 8k course. DeVries finished three places shy of earning NAIA All-America honors, which went to the top 30 individual finishers.

Mark Abrams, a junior from Glenwood, Iowa, ran second for the Mustangs with the 46th place time of 25:51.70.

Jay Welp, a senior from Conrad, Iowa, also finished among the top 75 runners in a field of 320 athletes. Welp finished 73rd with a time of 26:09.20.

The Mustangs’ other two runners who figured in the team scoring were Jacob Scott, a freshman from Rodney, Iowa, who finished 147th with a time of 26:49.60; and Jacob Klein, a freshman from Fremont, Neb., who finished 159th with a time of 26:54.60.

Sean Skillern, a sophomore from Shenandoah, Iowa, and Dan Larscheid, a senior from Bondurant, Iowa, also competed for the Mustangs and finished 176th and 214th with times of 27:04.30 and 27:24.40, respectively.

Results