COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Grace cross country squads got a taste of national competition at the Gans Creek Classic on Friday.

The race, held at Missouri's Gans Creek XC Course, will be the site of the NAIA National Championships on Nov. 22.

The women nabbed an impressive fourth-place showing out of 26 teams. The men finished in 13th out of 26 teams.

The women topped seven teams who were ranked or receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25, including the No. 15, No. 17 and No. 21-ranked teams.

The men competed in a loaded field with nine other opponents in the NAIA Top 25, including half of the top 10.

Grace had four runners place in the top-25 of the challenging field. Esther Cameron (21:47.5) and Kylie Sauder (21:51.4) kept a close pairing, finishing 15th and 18th respectively overall.

Brandon Kleber (24:49.0) and Cole Johnston (24:52.1) did the same on the men's team, grabbing 19th and 23rd place.

On the women's side, Grace continued to bunch its runners well. Morgan Welch (23:03.2) grabbed 63rd place; Cece Mitchell (23:08.4) was five seconds behind her with Caroline Kolb (23:24.5) not far behind.

Addison Grady (23:41.7) and Cassandra Cross (23:49.4) kept within reach of each other as well.

Luis Loera ran third for the men's squad with a time of 25:52.5, and Luke Nier (26:19.5) and Justin Van Prooyen (26:22.8) maintained a close connection.

Austin Wilson (26:32.8) and Ian Harrold (27:03.0) rounded out the men's top-seven runners.

The Lancers race again in Louisville on Oct. 5.

FULL RACE RESULTS

WOMEN'S RESULTS

15. Cameron - 21:47.5

18. Sauder - 21:51.4

63. Welch - 23:03.2

67. Mitchell - 23:08.4

83. Kolb - 23:24.5

107. Grady - 23:41.7

114. Cross - 23:49.4

126. Baylis - 23:58.3

133. Geller - 24:04.6

149. Pettit - 24:18.1

MEN'S RESULTS

19. Kleber - 24:49.0

23. Johnston - 24:52.1

110. Loera - 25:52.5

157. Nier - 26:19.5

161. Van Prooyen - 26:22.8

179. Wilson - 26:32.8

229. Harrold - 27:03.0

231. McCarty - 27:05.7

299. Clear - 27:55.4