OSKALOOSA - Evan Bowman of Mount Mercy University finished a tight second at the Heart of America Conference cross country meet Saturday at the Lacey Recreation Complex in Oskaloosa.

Christopher Buhler of Benedictine beat Bowman by 1.1 seconds, clocking a winning time of 26 minutes, 32.0 seconds. Bowman finished a few steps behind Buhler in 26:33.1.

This was the first competition in any Heart of America event for Mount Mercy since the Mustangs joined the league this year.

Benedictine captured the men's and women's team championships. Mount Mercy placed second in both races, earning automatic berths for its men's and women's teams at the NAIA national meet Nov. 21 in Charlotte, N.C.

Colton Forster of Mount Mercy finished fourth in the men's race. Lindsay Brunson led the Mount Mercy women in 12th place.

MEN'S 8K RESULTS

Team Standings

1. Benedictine (Kan.) 40, 2. Mount Mercy 101, 3. Baker 107, 4. MidAmerica Nazarene 111, 5. Central Methodist 112, 6. Missouri Valley 172, 7. Evangel 186, 8. William Penn 187, 9. Grand View 213, 10. Clarke 253, 11. Graceland 290, 12. Culver-Stockton 344.

Champion - Christopher Buhler, Benedictine, 26:32.0.

Mount Mercy - 2. Evan Bowman 26:33.1, 4. Colton Forster 26:41.5, 19. James Lindstrom 27:48.8, 29. Michael Marshall 28:20.4, 47. Nigel Christianson 29:33.2.

WOMEN'S 5K RESULTS

Team Standings

1. Benedictine (Kan.) 25, 2. Mount Mercy 76, 3. MidAmerica Nazarene 90, 4. Central Methodist 104, 5. Grand View 156, 6. Clarke 159, 7. Baker 165, 8. Evangel 182, 9. Avila 288, 10. William Penn 294, 11. Culver-Stockton 309, 12. Peru State 360, 13. Graceland 361, 14. Missouri Valley 397.

Champion - Katherine Dillard, Benedictine, 18:36.0.

Mount Mercy - 12. Lindsay Brunson 19:40.1, 13. Molly Pruett 19:47.0, 15. Liz Mosbach 19:51.9, 16. Katie Hoffert 19:58.4, 20. Dana Ewan 20:08.4.