November 10, 2023
Three Earn All American, Men Finish Fourth at NCCAA II Cross Country National Meet
The Eagles' Cross Country team capped off an extremely successful season with several top-10 finishes at the national meet last week.
Warsaw, IN - It was a beautifully cool, crisp morning on Friday when the Eagles Cross Country teams took to the course in Warsaw, Indiana for the NCCAA National Championship XC Meet. It was nice to see some of our friends from other NCCAA teams that we only get to run against a couple of times each year, such as Maranatha and Ozark Christian College.
The men's race was first this year, and our men's team showed up ready to run hard. We knew the competition was going to be hard to beat, so it was extra special to have two of our men run a great race and break into the top 10 to achieve All-American awards. David Loveall finished 4th with a 27:49 and Conrad Lobb grabbed the 10th place spot with a 29:26! The rest of the men's squad: Caleb Murphy (32:01), Max Johnston (33:00), Andy Hackley (34:05), Ben Hackley (35:35), and Daniel Subra (36:30) all worked hard and competed well for their finishing place in the race. With the second, third, and fourth place team scores all within 4 points, every place was important. The Faith men's team captured the 4th place team plaque with 92 points. This was the first time that the men's cross country team has earned a team plaque at Nationals, so it was a very exciting end to a great season!
The field of runners in the women's race was equally challenging, with the 5th thru 10th place finishers all finishing within 20 seconds of each other. Becca Hulinsky ran a great race in 21:16, capturing an All-American award for the women's team with a 9th place finish! The rest of the women's team: Lydia Mueller (23:08), Elizabeth Beenken (24:37), Karynna Ward (24:38), Caressa Kluver (24:59), Tina Lange (27:43), and Jeannie Wilkinson (28:44) all ran well also. The women finished in 7th place with 125 points, just 2 points away from Moody Bible Institute's 6th place score.
It was a wonderful way to end a season where we fielded full 7-person teams on both the women's and men's side for the first time. God blessed us greatly throughout the season, and we have many fun memories that we will cherish for years to come. We are thankful for the many family members who were able to make the trip out to Indiana to cheer on our teams and for all who supported us in prayer throughout the season. Thank you all!
