JOPLIN, MO. - Fort Scott men's & women's cross country opened up the 2023 season on Friday, Sept. 15th at the Southern Stampede hosted by Missouri Southern State University at the Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course in Joplin.

The Women did not earn a team score as all five runners did not cross the line to collect a complete total. The Greyhound women collectively scored 276 points among the four student-athletes who did cross the finish line. The men finished 16th overall on the team leader board with 433 points as all five hounds accomplished finishing the race.

The top finisher for the Greyhound women was true freshman Rio Kirven. She posted a mark of 22:07 in her first collegiate race, earning her a 42nd-place finish and was the 20th-place finisher among freshmen women.

"Not having Chrystal finish the race was a big factor in women's results," added Ward-La Salle. "She was with Rio most of the way, about 2/3rds through the race. The course and heat caught up to her. We talked about it and I know she has a breakout performance in her coming. When I was at Georgia Tech we had a female distance runner who was an all-American in XC. Even she had races where she dropped out. I wouldn't say it's okay that it happened, but it does happen."

On the Men's end of things fellow true freshman Johnny Chavez snagged the top finish for The Fort as he earned a time of 31:39, enough for 76th-place.

The Rutledge course in Joplin was extremely hilly and was meant to be a challenge and the hardest workout the Hounds have had this season.

Fort Scott has the opportunity to build on the Southern Stampede performances in two weeks as the Greyhound's will make their way down south to Arkansas for the 2023 Chili Pepper Festival hosted by the University of Arkansas on Sept. 29th on a much flatter course.