For the first time at the Division II level, Lindenwood had athletes compete in the NCAA Division II Cross Country National Championships this past weekend.

Senior Najwa Chouati and junior Louis Moreau made the trip about 15 hours south to Saint Leo, Florida, to race on Saturday amongst some of the top cross country athletes in the country.

Chouati was the first of the two to take the course, with her race starting at 7:30 a.m. CT. The senior from Morocco tallied a 70th place finish out of 256 runners with a time of 21:51.8 in the 6k race. 

The race concluded Chouati’s season and her cross country career at Lindenwood. In her final season, she earned All-Region and All-GLVC honors, had three first place finishes, and five finishes inside the top five. 

On the men’s side, Moreau’s race began at 8:45 a.m. CT on Saturday. Out of 262 runners, the junior placed inside the top 75 in 73rd place. Moreau tallied a time of 32:09.3. 

Moreau started the season with a first place finish at the Truman State Dual Meet on Sept. 2, before finishing first again at the Border War Championships in Elsah, Illinois, on Oct. 8. He had three finishes inside the top two, and four in the top 10.