A fall morning made for cross country greeted the KCAC harriers as they gathered for a second straight year to take on the challenge of the University of Saint Mary on-campus course in Leavenworth. Unlike a year earlier when an overnight rain plus a light drizzle before the men’s race made footing on the long hills somewhat treacherous, the footing was perfect for the 2025 KCAC championships.

WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP

Ranked #10 in the latest NAIA national poll, the five-time defending champion University of Saint Mary women knew they would have to run an almost perfect race to hold off the #14 ranked Coyotes of Kansas Wesleyan University.  With both teams having five runners ranked among the KCAC’s top 10 performances for 2025, the chase for the team title was expected to come down to the 5th, 6th, and 7th scorers for each team and whether one team could break up the others lead pack.

Josie Tyrrell (Saint Mary) was the favorite to win the individual title as her season best led the conference by almost a minute, and the Spire senior didn’t disappoint as she immediately went to the lead and kept expanding her margin over the field as the race went on.  Crossing the finish in a KCAC Championship meet-record time of 21:40.77, Tyrrell won by 52 seconds over runner-up Kierra Jensen (Kansas Wesleyan), while bettering the previous KCAC Championship meet 6-km record of 21:42.44 set by Riley Heibert (Saint Mary) on a less challenging Southwestern College course in 2023.  

The team race was tight as expected.  The Spires placed three women among the top five, but Kansas Wesleyan was able to get all five of its scorers across the finish in the top 10 while Saint Mary could only manage one more scorer in the top 10. That was enough as Kansas Wesleyan celebrated its first team title since 2013, breaking Saint Mary’s five-year stranglehold on the KCAC’s women’s team title in the process.

Led by Tyrrell (1st), USM placed Abigail White (4th) and Serenity Larson (5th).  Kansas Wesleyan countered though with leaders Kierra Jensen (2nd) and Kirstin Hackney (3rd).  The second five though across the finish line found KWU placing Josie Koppes (6th), Madisyn Ehrlich (7th), and Micah Dickens (9th) giving the Coyotes a team score of 27 points.  Carly Holadia (8th) was the Spires’ #4 scorer, but significantly, the only Spire in the second five home.  Kadence Oehlschlager (Evangel) in 10th was the first non-Coyote or non-Spire to finish.  She was followed by Bethany Schrag (Bethel; finished 11th), Julianna Maxfield (Tabor; finished 12th), and Coyote pusher Shelby Lingle ahead of the Spires’ final scorer, Ava Klaassen, in 14th.  Saint Mary’s final team score totaled 32 points giving Kansas Wesleyan the 2025 KCAC Women’s team champion by five points, the closest team score since Friends beat Saint Mary by two points (72-74) in 2016.

In addition to Lingle, Kansas Wesleyan placed Hailey Nordhus (15th), Charlee Lind (16th), and Makayla Little (18th) on the All-KCAC second team with Liv Lohf being the Spires’ only other All-KCAC performer.

Earning individual national qualifying spots with top 20 scoring finishes while on non-NAIA qualifying teams were Oehlschlager, Schrag, and Maxfield along with Adrienne Selzer (Tabor; 16th), Lexi Patterson (Friends; 17th), and Anna McCune (Evangel; 19th).

MEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP

The University of Saint Mary men entered the meet ranked #5 in the latest NAIA national poll and was the favorite for another team title as it reloaded with three of the All-KCAC performers from 2024 and seven of the top 10 individual best times by KCAC men for 2025.  But, Kansas Wesleyan was countering with 2024’s runner-up Damion Jackson plus six All-KCAC performers from last season.  

The battle for the individual title as predicted was between the Coyotes’ Jackson and the Spires’ Kenneth Howell (8th in ’24) as they were the only two sub-25-minute KCAC performers in 2025.  True to form, they moved to the front early in the 8-km race with Howell building a lead of almost 20 -meters by the midway point.  But, Jackson wasn’t to be denied the KCAC title he missed a year earlier as he never completely lost contact, battled back and took the lead with just approximately one-half mile to go and pulled away to a 2.8-second win in 24:57.76, the only finisher under 25-minutes.  

The Coyotes made a valiant effort in the team race, but too many non-Coyotes/non-Spires got in the way.  While the Coyotes were led by Jackson, Jake Cruz (6th), Ethan Ochana (10th), Evan Pearce (12th), and Braulio Torres (15th) for a total of 44 points, the Spires countered with Howell (2nd), Derebe Carr (4th), Jonah Godina (7th), Kevin Nava (8th), and Brayden Marcotte (11th) for 32 points, a 12-point win for the Spires and their closest challenge since defeating KWU by seven points (27-34) in 2016.

While USM had pushers James White (13th) and Mohamed Elgossy (16th) along with non-scorers Austin Howell (18th) and Prince Ntozo (20th) earning All-KCAC honors, Kansas Wesleyan’s Tytus Reed (19th) was the Coyotes’ only pusher in the top 20.  

Non-Spires/non-Coyotes interrupting the battle for the team title were Nathan Hawbaker (Evangel; finished 3rd), Brian Fackert (McPherson; finished 5th), Ethan Montgomery (Evangel; finished 9th), Ethan Smith (Evangel; finished14th), and Asa Johnson (Bethel; finished 17th).  Joining those five and qualifying for the NAIA National Championships in Tallahassee, Florida on November 21st on an individual basis was Alexander Worthley (Evangel), the 20th scorer (23rd overall finisher).
 

TEAM SCORING

WOMEN

1. Kansas Wesleyan 27
2. Saint Mary 32
3. Evangel 98
4. Tabor 108
5. Bethel 163
6. Friends 168
7. Bethany 225
8. Oklahoma Wesleyan 228
9. Ottawa 260
10. Sterling 298
11. York 311
12. McPherson 313
13. Southwestern 367

MEN

1. Saint Mary 32
2. Kansas Wesleyan 44
3. Evangel 72
4. Bethel 134
5. Bethany 147
6. Friends 156
7. Sterling 203
8. McPherson 244
9. Ottawa 247
10. Tabor 305
11. York 312
12. Southwestern 356
13. Oklahoma Wesleyan 371