JOPLIN, Mo. — Harding's Noah Haileab earned All-Central Region honors Saturday, leading the men's cross-country team to a ninth-place finish at the NCAA Division II Central Region Championship.

Haileab secured the final All-Region spot by finishing 25th on the 10-kilometer course at Missouri Southern. He completed the race in 31:27.18 to earn the honor, which is awarded to the top 25 finishers.

As a team, Harding finished ninth out of 31 teams with 242 points. Northwest Missouri won the team championship with 72 points, followed by Washburn (104) and East Central (116).

Nate Perry was the second finisher for Harding, placing 35th in 31:47.65. Harding's other scoring runners included Aidan Bailey (53rd, 32:16.37), Ryan McCarn (61st, 32:31.49), and Oren Arthun (68th, 32:40.29).

Aziz Mohammed of Northwest Missouri won the individual regional title with a time of 29:53.48.