JOPLIN - Jaime Villa Zapatero's ninth-place finish individually paced Drury to a sixth place team finish in the 21st annual Missouri Southern Stampede Cross Country Invitational here on Saturday.
Zapatero, a junior, crossed the finish line in 24:05.35, nearly a minute behind winner Daniel Kirwa, a sophomore from Harding who finished in 23:11.07.
Junior Derek Berry finished 40th, sophomore Case Van Arkel was 52nd and junior Steven Busch was 57th to help bolster the Panthers' team effort in the field of 359 runners. Arkansas won the team title with 48 points, with Pittsburg State second at 131 and Southwest Baptist third at 137 in the 35-team field.
In the women's race, Drury finished in 14th place in the team competition with 455 points as Arkansas won it with 23 points. Host Missouri Southern was second with 45 points.
Senior Stephanie Cowherd finished in 65th place to lead the Panthers, completing the race in 19:15.93. Freshman Brenda Varela was 73rd and freshman Lindsay Dukewits was 79th for DU.
Miranda Walker of Arkansas won the race in 17:23.64.
Both Drury squads return to action October 3 in the Oklahoma State Cowboy Jamboree in Stillwater.
Men's Results
Women's Results