Men's Cross Country | 10/10/2025 9:27:00 AM

Emporia State Cross Country
at FHSU Tiger Open
Tiger Cross Country Course • Hays, Kan.
Saturday, October 11 • Men (8K) at 9:15 a.m. | Women (5K) at 10:00 a.m.
Live Results | Complete Notes in pdf
Up Next: at MIAA Championships
Saturday, October 25 • Women (6K) at 10:00 a.m. | Men (8K) at 11:00 a.m.
Four Oaks Golf Course • Pittsburg, Kan.

GO WEST
Emporia State heads to western Kansas to take part in the FHSU Tiger Open in the final regular season meet of the season. The Hornets are expected to be joined by five other NCAA Division II schools and eight junior colleges. This is the first time the event is being held at the Tiger Cross Country Course at the Bickle Schmidt Sports Complex after previously running at the Rolling Ridge Cross Country Course, the Sand Plum Nature Trail and the FHSU Cross Country Course on campus. The race will finish on the Alex Francis Track.

LAST RUN
Both the Emporia State men and women placed fourth in the team standings at the Griffon Invitational in St. Joseph, Mo.
Treyton Laurance led the Emporia State men with at top ten finish. He completed the eight kilometer course in 26:36.35 to place tenth.  Carson Fouard ran 26:54.54 to place 13th and join Laurance in the top 20 overall.  Lucas Kreutzer was the third runner for the Hornets with a time of 28:03.07 and 22nd place finish.  Evan Benoit ran 28:32.17 to place 27th and Jack Harty turned in a time of 28:34.38 to finish 28th and round out the Emporia State scoring.
Mason Bina again led the Hornet women, placing 11th overall with a time of 19:19.31 over the five kilometer course. Brooklyn Nolte and Emma Bartholome joined her in the top 20 with Nolte running 19:38.31 to place 17th and Bartholome clocking in at 19:43.75 to finish 18th overall.  Heidi Grimmett ran 21:02.25 to place 31st with Valyrie Freeman right behind her in 32nd with a time of 21:08.56 to round out the Hornet scoring.

THE COACH
Justin Hill is in his second year as head cross country coach at Emporia State and will be in charge of the middle distance and distance runners for the Hornet track and field program. Hill was the director of operations and assistant cross country coach for the Hornets from 2021-24. He served as meet director for Emporia State's regular season home meets in addition to overseeing the operational aspects of the Hornet cross country and track and field programs.

SCOUTING THE HORNETS
The four of the top five finishers for the Hornets at each meet this year have been either freshmen or sophomores. Prior to the Griffon Invite sophomore Dylan Hunter had picked up where he left off last year and was the top placer for Emporia State in the first two races. Sophomore Carson Fouard has been the second finisher for the Hornet men in all three races. Senior Treyton Laurance led the Hornets at the Griffon Invite and was the third runner at the Greeno-Dirksen Invitational. Freshman Evan Benoit as the fourth runner in Nebraska and St. Joseph while Lucas Kreutzer was the third runner for ESU at the JK Gold. Mason Bina has led the Hornets for nine straight meets dating back to last season. Freshman Brooklyn Nolte was the second runner in the last two races with junior Elizabeth Willhite the second runner in Wichita for the Emporia State women.  Sophomore Emma Bartholome finished third for ESU at the Greeno-Dirksen and Griffon Invite and was fourth at the JK Gold meet.

LAST TIME AT THE TIGER OPEN
The Hornet men finished 8th out of 15 teams and the women finished 13th out of 17 teams at the 2021 Tiger Open. Matthew Maki turned in a time of 24:31.5 in the Men's Gold 8K race. Connor Young joined Maki in the top 30 with a time of 25:23.4 to finish 30th. Justyn France was the third Hornet finisher in 53rd place and a time of 26:09.8. Tyler Swift finished 63rd with a time of 26:32.5. Aidan Massey rounded out the scoring for the Hornets with a 66th place finish and a time of 26:44.8.Irina Honc turned in a time of 19:22.9 to lead the way for the Hornets with a 45th place finish. Kaitlyn Karjala was the second scorer for ESU with a 53rd place finish and a time of 19:31.6. Hannah Showalter came in 73rd place with a time of 20:02.7 and Mason Bina finished 74th with a time of 20:04.9. Mackenzie Tucker rounded out the scoring with an 81st place finish and a time of 20:28.3.

UP NEXT
Emporia State will compete at the MIAA Championships on October 25 in Pittsburg, Kan. The women will run a 6K starting at 10 am with the men's 8K set for 11 am.