MIAA Championships On Saturday for Emporia State Cross Country

Men's Cross Country | 10/23/2025 3:00:00 PM

Emporia State Cross Country
at MIAA Championships
Four Oaks Golf Course • Pittsburg, Kan.
Saturday, October 25 • Women (6K) at 10:00 a.m. | Men (8K) at 11:00 a.m.
Meet Results | Complete Notes in pdf
Up Next: at NCAA Central Regional Championships
Saturday, November 8 • Women (6K) at 10:00 a.m. | Men (10K) at 11:00 a.m.
Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course • Joplin, Mo.

CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON
Emporia State begins the championship portion of the schedule at the MIAA Cross Country Championships on the Four Oaks Golf Course in Pittsburg, Kan. on Saturday. The women will be running six kilometers starting at 10:00 a.m. with the men running eight kilometers starting at 11:00 a.m.

LAST RUN
In a meet that featured 16 teams nationally ranked in either NCAA Division II or NJCAA Division I, the Emporia State women placed sixth and the men tenth at the FHSU Tiger Open in Hays, Kan.
The Emporia State women placed sixth overall, behind five nationally ranked teams and in front of #30 Colorado Christian.  Brooklyn Nolte was the top finisher for the Hornets for the first time this season, running 19:13.57 to place 32nd overall.  Emma Bartholome was 45th in a time of 19:37.37 while Mason Bina ran 19:41.67 to come in 49th place.  Elizabeth Willhite was 60th in a time of 20:13.53 while Heidi Grimmett ran 20:50.74 to place 71st and round out the Emporia State scoring.
The Hornet men finished in tenth place and were in front of two nationally ranked NJCAA teams.  Dylan Hunter was the top finisher for Emporia State, placing 55th in a time of 26:03.83 over the eight kilometer course.  Treyton Laurance was the second placer for the Hornets with a time of 26:04.87 while Lucas Kreutzer ran 26:26.37 to place 63rd overall.  Gage Chapman was 89th in a time of 27:10.48 and Carson Fouard ran 27:28.01 to place 89th and round out the ESU scoring. The top four Hornets all ran season's bests over eight kilometers.
 
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 Hornets have had at least three freshmen or sophomores in the top five at each meet this year. Dylan Hunter was the top placer for Emporia State in the first two races and again at the FHSU Tiger Open. Carson Fouard was the second finisher for the Hornet men in the first three races. Senior Treyton Laurance led the Hornets at the Griffon Invite, was second at the Tiger Open and was the third runner at the Greeno-Dirksen Invitational. Lucas Kreutzer was the third runner for ESU at the JK Gold and Tiger Open while Evan Benoit was the fourth runner in Nebraska and St. Joseph. Mason Bina had led the Hornets in nine straight meets dating back to last season prior to the FHSU Tiger Open. Brooklyn Nolte moved into the top spot in Hays after being  the second runner in the previous two races with Elizabeth Willhite the second runner in Wichita for the Emporia State women.  Emma Bartholome finished second for ESU at the Tiger Open, was third at the Greeno-Dirksen and Griffon Invite and was fourth at the JK Gold meet.

LAST TIME AT THE MIAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
At the 2024 MIAA Championships in St. Joseph, Mo. the Emporia State women finished in eighth place, just finishing ahead of Central Missouri in ninth by two points. Emporia State's top finisher was Mason Bina in 54th, as she ran 23:41.43 over the six kilometers. Just behind Bina was Catherine Lyon in 57th, running 23:53.04. The final three Hornets in the top five were Madeline Martin in 80th, Emma Bartholome in 81st and Koe Schultz in 83rd. In the men's race, the Hornets finished in tenth place, and were led by Dylan Hunter who finished 40th with a time of 25:07.11 over the 8K course. Luke Gleason was just 20 seconds back of Hunter, running 25:27.75 and finishing 57th. Treyton Laurance, Cooper Schroer and Sam McDavitt rounded out the top five finishers for the Hornets as they slotted in at 81st, 90th and 91st place.  

HOW TOUGH IS IT?
The MIAA has five women's teams and three men's teams ranked in the USTFCCCA National Top 30. The MIAA and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) are the only leagues with at least three teams ranked in both the men's and women's polls.
In the Central Regional Rankings, the MIAA men have the top three positions and seven of ten spots while the women take up four of the top five and six of the top ten rankings.

HORNETS AT THE MIAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
Emporia State has won seven MIAA Individual Championships since joining the association in 1991. That is the fourth most individual championships by a conference school in that time.  The Hornets join Missouri Southern and Central Missouri as the only current MIAA schools with multiple MIAA individual championships for both the men and women since 1991.

UP NEXT
Emporia State will return to the Four State Area on November 8 for the NCAA Central Regional in Joplin, Mo. The women will run a 6K starting at 10 am with the men's 10K set for 11 am.