Results
 
LUBBOCK, TX– West Texas A&M's William Amponsah led the No. 9 Buffs to their highest team finish at the NCAA Division II Men's Cross Country South Central Regional Championships on Saturday morning in Lubbock, Texas. The Buffs finished third to gain an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II National Championship held later this month on Nov. 18^th in Joplin, MO. 
 
A NEW RECORD
Amponsah, a junior from Agona Swedru, Accra, Ghana, won the individual title in the men's 10,000 meter with a time of 29 minutes, 32.5 seconds setting a record for fastest regionals time in WT history and the second fastest time in NCAA South Central Regionals history. He outran second place finisher Romain Legendre from Adams State by eight seconds.
 
Amponsah started with the front pack at the start of the race and steadily gained yards on his opponents. At the last 3,000 meters, Amponsah pulled away to gain a ten-yard advantage to eventually take the course on his own in the last 100 yards to the finish line. This was Amponsah's fifth race in the maroon and white and fifth individual title of this season. 
 
BUFFS BEST
This is the Buffs best team finish since 2012, dating back to the earliest record of times kept of the NCAA South Central Regionals. This is the Buffs first automatic bid ever that guarantees them a place at nationals. Their team score of 70 is the lowest West Texas A&M team score at NCAA South Central Regionals ever, with their previous lowest score coming in 2019 (129 points). 
 
The Buffs had five USTFCCCA All-Region runners, the most in one season in WT history. The All-Region awards are earned by the top-25 runners in the competition and include WT runners Amponsah, Harry Louradour, Enrico Oddone, Aziz Mohammed and Louis Moreau. 
 
Four Buffs had personal best 10,000-meter times; Harry Louradour, Louis Moreau, Adrian Legarreta and Calvin Allen. The remaining Buffs did not have a previous 10,000-meter time to compare to this race. 


TEAM EFFORT 
Harry Louradour had a strong showing at the regional championships as the second Buff to cross the line running 30:07.8 to finish 8^th followed by teammates Enrico Oddone (16^th, 30:37.84), Aziz Mohammed (21^st, 30:46.5), Louis Moreau (24^th, 30:49.6), Adrian Legarreta (31^st, 30:59.6) and Calvin Allen (52^nd, 31:53.5). There were 165 runners in the South-Central Regionals Championship. 
 
A STACKED REGION
The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference had the top two teams led by No. 1 Colorado School of Mines who placed five runners in the Top 15 for a total of 43 points.  No. 4 Adams State came in second with 51 points followed by No. 9 Buffs (70), then No. 6 Western Colorado (123) with No. 7 Colorado Christian rounding out the top five with 130 points. Colorado School of Mines, Adams State and West Texas A&M received the regions automatic bids to the National Championships. 
 
NCAA DII NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
A total of 34 teams will be selected to the 2023 NCAA Division II National Championships on Nov. 4 in Joplin, Mo. The top three teams from each regional meet will receive automatic bids (24 teams), while an additional ten teams are awarded based on the following criteria: click here for team/individual selection criteria.
 
The NCAA will release the teams and individuals for the national races on Monday, Nov. 6^th at 5 p.m. ET.