JOPLIN, Mo. – In their final race of the season, the University of Mary's Chris Jessop and Kevin Carpenter wrapped up 2015 by earning men's cross country all-region honors at the NCAA Central region meet.
 
Jessop just missed a trip to the NCAA championships. The only U-Mary runner to advance to nationals when he qualified in 2013, Jessop was a scant 7.78 seconds from the third and final at-large berth. The senior from Corvallis, Mont., placed 11^th overall after covering the 10,000 meter course in 31:02.84.
 
Running in his second regional, Carpenter improved from 89^th last year to 14^th this season. The sophomore from Colville, Wash., traversed the trail in 31:06.06.
 
The top 25 finishers in the meet earned all-region recognition.
 
Overall the Marauders placed 11^th in the 27 team field with 283 team points. Augustana captured first, followed by East Central, Nebraska Kearney, Southwest Baptist and MSU Moorhead. All five will advance to the NCAA championships.
 
In his final collegiate meet, Thomas Neale (Billings, Mont.) ran third for U-Mary and finished 45^th overall. The senior was timed in 32:00.17.
 
Steven Gordon placed 61^st overall. The junior from Pierre, S.D., was clocked in 32:13.50.
 
Rounding out the scoring for the Marauders was sophomore Tyler Erickson (Roseau, Minn.) in 154^th at 34:59.39.
 
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