Texas A&M University-Commerce sophomore Tyler Tyndell put the finishing touches on a strong first year as a Lion with a 28th-place finish on Saturday at the NCAA South Central Regional.
Tyndell led the Lions to a 13th-place finish as host Missouri Southern State ended a seven-year title run of Lone Star Conference member Abilene Christian for the team title. MSSU had four runners in the top 10 to edge out Abilene Christian, 41-to-55. Individually, Abilene Christian’s Serge Gasore and Julius Nyango were first and second, respectively. Gasore covered the 10k course in 30:28.3 for a five-second victory over his Wildcat teammate.
Tyndell was the eighth sophomore and also the eighth LSC runner to finish as he crossed the line in 32:33.4. The next three Lions were separated by ten runners as sophomore Alfredo Soto was 62nd in 33:57.2, sophomore Gerardo Delafuente was 68th in 34:06.0 and sophomore Robert Reed was 72nd in 34:17.4. Freshman Brandon Womack crossed the line in 34:39.9 for 83rd place, freshman Logan Kelly was 97th in 35:49.1 and freshman Kasie Carrell was 102nd in 37:00.7.
The Lions also sent three women to Joplin. Freshman Kate Donovan was 108th in 26:07.1 in her first collegiate 6k run. Teammates Esher Fernandez and Janna Lane were 112th (26:56.5) and 113th (26:56.9).
Missouri Southern also won the women’s race with four runners in the top 14 for the regional title. Lone Star Conference member Abilene Christian was second and the Wildcats were led by individual winner Winrose Karunde, who crossed the line in 20:39.8 to edge Jonel Rossbach of Emporia State by five tenths of a second.