It’s a famous quote from the baseball-themed “Field of Dreams,” but it holds true when talking about the Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course on the campus of Missouri Southern. The championship-caliber course is host to one of the biggest cross-country meets in the Midwest and home to one of the most talented distance programs in college 40
athletics. The impact of the course, highlighted by the annual Southern Stampede, is not limited to Missouri Southern but also the city, local businesses and region as a whole. The cross-country course has been the home to 10 NCAA Division II Cross Country Regional Championship meets (including 2021), while being slated to host that race for the next four years. It has also been host to four NCAA Division II National Championship races and will do so again in 2023.
CROSSROADS MAGAZINE
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