TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Jaden Rodriguez posted a top 100 finish while Lucky Maila also finished in the top half of the field as the MACU Men's Cross Country pair competed at the NAIA National Championships being run at the Apalachee Regional Park on Friday morning.
 
MEN'S RACE

• Distance: 8000-Meters (8k)
• Number of Teams: 36
• Number of Finishers: 323
• Top Finishers:
  • Jaden Rodriguez
    • Time: 25:56.0; Place: 96^th
  • Lucky Maila
    • Time: 26:19.3; Place: 152^nd
• Race Notes:
  • On a challenging course that didn't produce the fastest times, sophomore Jaden Rodriguez running in his second NAIA National Championship event took a large leap from last year's performance as he finished 96^th out of 323 competitors with a time of 25:56.0.
  • While the time was not one of Rodriguez's best marks, this year's championship course proved to be a much larger challenge for the competition as no runners in this year's meet ran a sub 24-minute time while eight ran under 24 minutes at last year's NAIA National Championship in Columbia, Mo. The winning mark set in this year's race was the Master's Jack Anderson with a time 24:15.4.
  • Competing at his first NAIA National, junior Lucky Maila also put together a solid run, placing in the top half of the field with a 152^nd place time of 26:19.3.
  • Of the Sooner Athletic Conference runners in the meet, Rodriguez was the third-fastest runner while Maila posted the fourth-best time from the league's runners.
  • The 2025 race marked the first time in program history that the Evangels had two runners qualify for the NAIA National Championship meet as Rodriguez was the program's first ever qualifier last season.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will now prepare for the start of the indoor track & field season as the Evangels opening meet will be at the Crimson & Gold Invitational hosted by Pittsburg State at the Robert W. Plaster Center in Pittsburg, Kan. from Dec. 5-6.