CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College women and men's cross country teams make the trip to central Florida for the NCAA Division II South Region Championships on Saturday, November 6. Saint Leo University serves as the host for this year's event and will take part on the Abbey Golf Course. The women's 5K is slated for 7:30 a.m. central with the men's 8K marked for 8:30 a.m.
 
The Choctaws are coming off of impressive showings at the Gulf South Conference Championship on Saturday, Oct. 23 on their home course Choctaw Trails. The MC ladies finished second at the event while the men finished third overall. A total of eight Choctaws claimed All-GSC honors during the two races. Gabe Poulin represented the men on the first team with a fourth-place finish. Cole Benoit (12th), Evan del Rio (15th) and Christian Balcer (18th) grabbed second team honors.
 
Jazmin Hernandez led a quartet of runners as she reset the school record with a time of 17:35.58, breaking her own time of 17:47.7, to finish fourth and earn All-GSC First Team accolades. Josie Whipp joined her Georgetown, Texas, teammate on the first team list as she finished eighth. Madeline Campbell (12th) and Emily Berry (20th) each grabbed second team honors in the 5K race.
 
Both squads sit among the top in the region according to the latest USTFCCCA Polls. The MC men are ranked 18th nationally and are third in the region. The Navy and Gold sit behind fellow GSC members the University of Alabama in Huntsville, which is atop the ranking and ninth nationally, and Lee (Tenn.) University, which is ranked 10th in the nation. Sunshine State Conference Champion, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is ranked fourth in the region and lays 26th nationally while regional-host Saint Leo is fifth.
 
On the women's side, MC is moved up to second in the region following its showing at the conference championship. The Navy and Gold surpassed SSC Champion, Saint Leo, and conference runner-up, University of Tampa, which now sit in third and fourth. UAH resides in fifth while GSC Champ, Lee, remains atop the ranking and is fifth nationally.
 
The top four teams in each region advance to the NCAA National Championships along with the top five individual finishers. Nationals are set for Saint Leo, Fla., on Saturday, Nov. 20.