Results

JOPLIN, Mo. – For the first time in West Texas A&M history the No. 6 West Texas A&M Buffs had placed fourth (142 points) as a team and had the top individual title from junior William Amponsah at the 2023 NCAA Division II National Championship held in Joplin, Mo. at the Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course on Saturday, Nov. 18. 
 
NATIONAL CHAMPION
William Amponsah of Agona Swedru, Central, Ghana led the Buffs as he ran across the finish line first to claim the NCAA Division II Individual National title. Amponsah ran a personal best time of 29 minutes, 4.3 seconds in the 10,000-kilometer course beating out 260 competitors for the top spot. He had to make his way to the front of the group after getting caught in the middle from the start of the race.His teammate Harry Louradour had the early lead with other top runners but Amponsah made his way into the top four runners. At 2,000 kilometers, Amponsah was in the top three with the rest of the runners still mere steps away. The breakaway happened at 5,000 kilometers with Amponsah putting 15 yards between himself and the rest of the top runners. He would continue to keep the lead on the hilly course to finish nine seconds ahead of second place finisher from Western Colorado. 
 
Amponsah went undefeated in his debut year in the maroon and white winning six races since the start of the 2023 season on Sept. 1. Amponsah has won the Lone Star Conference Championships, the South-Central Region Championships and now holds the first NCAA DII National Championship title for the Buffs. He ran the fastest time in WT history at the National Championship with former fastest Buff, Ezekiel Kipchirchir, finishing 12^th with a time of 30:07.8 back in 2019. 
 
TEAM EFFORT
The seven Buffs that competed at the NCAA DII National Championships led WT to the best finish in school history coming in at fourth place. Prior to this placing, the Buffs previous best finish happened in 2014 when they placed 11^th. Following Amponsah was teammate Harry Louradour, the 2022 Lone Star Conference Runner of the Year, who finished 20^th in 29 minutes, 56 seconds.  Aziz Mohammed, the sole sophomore and only underclassman competing for the Buffs, came in 30^th in 30 minutes, 10.7 seconds, Louis Moreau finished 37^th in 30 minutes, 18.7 seconds and the final scoring time came from Enrico Oddone who crossed the finish line in 85^th in 30 minutes, 59.1 seconds. 
 
Teammates Adrian Legarreta (114^th, 31:19.1) and Jay Hall (136^th, 31:33.2) finished in the top half of the competition. Alternate runner, Calvin Allen, did not compete at this competition but did help the Buffs get to the National Championships by running in the South Central Regional meet. 
 
BREAKING RECORDS
Four Buffs earned All-America honors by placing in the top 40 of the competition which include Amponsah, Louradour, Mohammed and Moreau. This is the most All-Americans the Buffs have produced in one season and the only time the Buffs have had more than one All-America honor in the same season. 
 
WT scored their lowest team score of 142 points making it the first time they broke the 200 point and below threshold. The prior best was in 2014 with 303 points to come in 11^th place. 
 
TEAM FINISHES
Wingate won the team title with 70 points with two runners finishing in the Top 10 to narrowly come away with first over Colorado School of Mines who placed second with 79 points. East Central came away with third with 108 points followed by West Texas A&M (142 points) and Western Colorado (168 points). 
 
COMING UP
WT will turn its attention towards the indoor track & field season with the first competition coming up on Dec. 8-9 at two meets, the Boo Rogers Combined Events and Crimson & Gold Classic hosted by Pittsburg State at the Robert W. Plaster Center.