Drury University

The Drury University men's and women's cross country squads will jump into competition for the first time this fall when both compete in the annual Missouri Southern Stampede on Saturday morning in Joplin.

The race, to be held at the Missouri Southern Cross Country Course on campus, finishing in Fred G. Hughes Stadium. The women's race will begin at 9 a.m., with the men to follow at 9:45.

Entries from 39 different colleges and universities are participating in the men's race, while the women's race features runners from 43 schools.

Drury's men finished third last season with 120 points, trailing winner Harding (19) and runner-up Missouri Southern (108), while the DU women finished 17th. Individually, the Panthers were led last season by the sixth-place finish of Jaime Villa Zapatero and a 12th from Geoff Hughes on the men's side, while the women were paced by Tia Young in 79th place.

All three are back for coach Jon Van Arkel's respective squads, joined by a cast of veterans and promising newcomers that give DU tremendous optimism for the 2009 campaign. Led by Villa Zapatero's individual championship, the Panther men finished third in last year's Great Lakes Valley Conference championship race, while the DU women were seventh.

Villa Zapatero earned All-America honors last season as a sophomore after finishing 20th at the NCAA-II Championships.

The DU men are ranked 24th in the most recent  USTFCCCA national poll and fourth in the Midwest Region, trailing Grand Valley State, Southern Indiana and Hillsdale..