JOPLIN, Mo. – Minot State's dynamic duo of ladies led the way Saturday in the final cross-country meet of the fall for the Beavers.

Bailey Wride and Emery Smith each finished in the top 100 at the NCAA Division II Central Region Championship, hosted by Missouri Southern State, helping the Minot State women finish 25^th as a team in a power-packed field.

Wride was 92^nd to lead all Minot State finishers on the day, covering the ladies' 6-kilometer course in 22 minutes, 59.94 seconds. Smith finished just 2 ½ seconds behind her in 100^th-place in 23:02.31 as the Beavers collected 749 team points to finish 25^th out of 35 teams in the field.

Minot State's NSIC rival, Winona State, won the Central Region women's team title with 99 points while Fort Hays State runner Emily McCullough was the individual women's champion in 20:32.59.

Helping power the Minot State women to a strong team finish were Julie Folk, who finished 171st in 24:42.70, Nicole Reeves, who placed 190th in 25:31.74, Afton Wride, who was  204th in 26:07.67, and Addyson Wendt, who finished 215th in 26:54.97.

On the men's side, Holter Bridwell led Minot State's efforts with a career-best 10K performance as he finished 135^th in 34:16.63, more than a minute faster than his performance in the 10K at last fall's Central Region Championship.

That set the tone for the Beaver men, who scored 881 team points to finish 30^th.

Northwest Missouri State swept the men's titles, winning the team standings with 72 points while Aziz Mohammed claimed the individual men's title in 29:53.48.

The rest of the Minot State men finished in a strong group, led by Jake Jenkins, who was 178th in 36:01.67, then Peyton Tuhy, who finished 181st in 36:08.12. Nikita Neyshtadt was next, finishing 192nd in 36:37.39, then Camden Jasmin placed 195th in 37:19.52, and Nolan Berglof was 197th in 37:38.22.

The Central Region Championships was the final meet of the season for the Minot State cross-country runners who now transition to indoor track and field competition. The Beavers' indoor track and field season begins with a pair of meets in December, the Mike Thorson Open on December 6 hosted by the University of Mary, and the Dakota Alumni Classic on December 11 hosted by North Dakota State.