Blake Jones earned a spot in the NCAA Division II National Cross Country Championships on Saturday at the NCAA Midwest Regional meet. Jones finished fifth overall and led the Prairie Stars to a ninth-place finish.
 
Jones will be attending his second straight national meet after setting a school record for the 10,000m distance. He ran a time of 30:15 to clinch the final automatic individual bid to the Division II Championship. Jones also competed in the meet the last time it was run in 2019.
 
Jones also earned all-region honors, as did teammate Wyatt McIntyre. McIntyre finished 16^th overall with a time of 30:58.
 
Freshman Chris Cherry was 52^nd overall after finishing in a time of 32:04. He was followed by Ryan Jones with a mark of 32:29, and Ryan Stark with a time of 32:44.
 
In the team standings, UIS was ninth with 225 points. The ninth-place finish was one off its best showing in program history. The Prairie Stars were hurt by an injury to one of its top runners in the early half of the race. Grand Valley State won the meet with 49 points.