After placing 12th of 33 squads in Saturday's Louisville Sports Commission Cross Country Classic men's 8K gold race, the Liberty men's cross country team has equaled its highest regional ranking of the season. The Flames are listed No. 12 in the Southeast Region this week, as announced by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Eastern Kentucky remains atop the regional rankings, followed by ACC members Virginia (No. 2), Virginia Tech (No. 3) and NC State (No. 4).

Six Flames clocked sub-26:00 8K times on Saturday, helping the team defeat regionally ranked foes Auburn, ETSU, Tennessee and Tennessee Tech. Freshman Stanley Langat led the way, running a personal-best time of 24:39.42 for 27th place out of 312 entrants. He was followed by Josh Showalter (50th place, 24:57.02), Cameron Francis (69th, 25:09.49), Graham Hansel (122nd, 25:41.97), Danny de Nijs (138th, season-best 25:50.86) and Jack Tidball (141st, personal-best 25:52.62).

Liberty will return to action at the ISU Pre-National Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind. The meet will be contested on Oct. 15 at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course, site of the 2016 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships. The day's first of six races will begin at 11 a.m.

USTFCCCA Division I Southeast Region Men's Cross Country Rankings
1) Eastern Kentucky
2) Virginia
3) Virginia Tech
4) NC State
5) Campbell
6) Kentucky
7) Louisville
8) William & Mary
9) Furman
10) Davidson
11) Charlotte
12) Liberty
13) George Mason
14) Appalachian State
15) Wake Forest