Missouri Southern State University’s Lilah Genel earned MIAA Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week honors following her performance at the 2025 Chile Pepper Festival Oct. 4 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Genel, a junior, ran a personal best 17:36.60 in the women’s 5K race and finished fifth among non-Division I athletes at the event. She finished 41st overall in a field of 278 runners chock-full of D-I talent.

The Lions finished 11th (285 points) in the field of 30 teams. Texas won the women’s team title with 54 points and host team Arkansas was runner-up with 106 points.

Southern’s Kyla Weems was 50th (17:42.60) and Isabella Frost (18:07.00) and Hailey Nelson (18:08.20) were 73rd and 74th, respectively. Abbey Brackenberry was 92nd (18:21.30) to round out the Lions’ scored runners.

Crowder College finished 27th and was led by Vivian Kipronos’ 59th-place finish (17:53.80).

In the men’s 8K event, the Lions finished 14th in the field of 30 teams with 406 points — 10 points behind 13th place Crowder College. Arkansas (40 points) earned the team title and Texas (56) was runner-up. Northwest Missouri State was third with 103 points.

Jaden Deaton (24:14.7) paced the Lions with a 12th place finish in the field of 306 runners. Chase Sorrell (5:27.70) was 82nd, Kelby Conner (25:48.10) was 105th, Carson King (25:52.00) was 110th, Kaden Cole (26:27.20) was 153rd and Kelton Sorrell (26:34.30) was 163rd.

Kenicious Limo (24:39.90) paced Crowder with a 24th-place finish and Sila Kiseo (24:42.30) was 27th. Brian Koech (25:04.10) was 48th.

In high school results, Joplin’s Ava Doll finished ninth among 594 runners in the girls’ division with a time of 17:50.70. Thomas Jefferson’s Will Twiss was the top local finisher in the boys race. Twiss (15:41.00) was 24th in the field of 726 runners.

Lion men and women will compete in the 2025 MIAA Cross Country Championships Oct. 25 at Four Oaks Golf Course in Pittsburg, Kansas.