Men's Cross Country | 11/5/2026 4:21:00 PM

Emporia State Cross Country
at MIAA Championships
MWSU Course • St. Joseph, Mo.
Saturday, November 7 • Men at 10:00 a.m. Women at 11:00 a.m.
Live Results: Black Squirrel Timing
Up Next: NCAA Central Regional Championships
Saturday, November 21 • Men at 10:00 a.m. Women at 11:15 a.m.
Yankton Trail Park • Sioux Falls, S.D.

OPENING ACT AT MIAA COURSE
Emporia State begins the championship portion of the schedule at the MIAA Cross Country Championships on the MWSU Course in St. Joseph, Mo. on Saturday. The men will be running eight kilometers starting at 10:00 a.m. with the women running six kilometers starting at 11:00 a.m.

LAST RUN
Running on the course that will host the MIAA Championships, the Emporia State men placed sixth and the women 11th at the Griffon Open on the MWSU Cross Country Course in St. Joseph, Mo.
Carson Fouard became the fourth different Hornet to lead Emporia State at a meet this year.  He ran 26:40.6 over the eight kilometers to place 38th overall.  Elijah Edwards and Jordan Schierbaum joined him in the top 50 with Edwards running 26:43.7 to place 41st while Schierbaum ran 26:51.1 to finishin in 48th place. Bryce Roberts finished in 69th place at 27:15.7 and Lucas Kreutzer was 78th in 27:30.2 as Emporia State finished in front of four other MIAA schools.
Emma Bartholome was the top Emporia State finisher for the third straight race.  She broke 20:00 over six kilometers for the first time this year, running 19:59.8 to place 79th overall.  Brooklyn Nolte was the second runner for the Hornets with a season's best time of 20:07.3 for an 89th place finish while Brett Jacobson finished 95th with a time of 20:22.3.  Britta Mongeau was 102nd with a time of 20:34.6 and Lilly Skalsky was 108th in 20:49.2 to round out the Emporia State scoring, both with career best times over six kilometers.

THE COACH
Justin Hill is in his third 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.

BIG TEAM
The Hornets brought back five of the top six men and four of the top five women runners from last year and have a total of 20 men and 16 women in the program this year.

QUICK LOOK AT THE HORNETS
The Emporia State men finished third at the JK Gold Classic, fifth at the Ollie Isom, and 14th at Gans Creek and the Pre-Nationals and sixth at the Griffon Open. A different runner has led ESU in four of the five competitions. Dylan Hunter is the only repeat top finisher when he ran a season's best 8K of 26:07.9 at the Pre-Nationals after being the top finisher for ESU at the JK Gold with a time of 19:14.14 over six kilometers. Gage Chapman was top finisher for the Hornets at Gans Creek with a time of 26:40.9 over eight kilometer. Bryce Roberts led the Hornets at the Ollie Isom with a time of 27:40.6 over the eight kilometer course. Carson Fouard was the top placer at the Griffon Open with a time of 26:40.6 over eight kilometers in St. Joe. Jordan Schierbaum was the second runner in the first three races for ESU with Fouard running second at the Pre-Nationals and Elijah Edwards running second at the Griffon Open.
The Hornet women placed third at the JK Gold Classic, fourth at the Ollie Isom, 19th at Gans Creek, 18th at Pre-Nationals and 11th at the Griffon Open. A different runner has led ESU in three of the five races. Emma Bartholome has been the top finisher for the Hornets the last three meets. She broke 20 minutes over five kilometers for the first time this year at 19:50.8 at the Griffon Open. She ran 24:37.8 at Pre-Nationals after running 23:37.5 over six kilometers at Gans Creek. Montgomery Morgan led ESU runners with a time of 19:46.41 at the JK Gold while Brett Jacobsen was the top Hornet finisher at the Ollie Isom in 20:53.3 with both races going five kilometers. 

HOW TOUGH IS IT?
The MIAA has four women's teams and three men's teams in the latest USTFCCCA National 25. The MIAA and RMAC are the only leagues with at least three teams ranked in both the men's and women's polls.
The MIAA has the top three men's teams and the top two women's teams in the USTFCCCA Central Regional Poll.  Five of the top nine men's teams and four of the top six women's teams in the regional poll are from the MIAA.

UP NEXT
The Hornets will compete at the NCAA Division II Central Regional hosted by Augustana on November 21 in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Regionals will determine who gets to run at the National Championships as a part of the final D2 Sports Festival at Rim Rock on December 4. 

LAST YEAR'S MIAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Emporia State cross country teams each finished in ninth place at the MIAA Championships in Pittsburg, Kan.
Dylan Hunter had the top individual finish for Emporia State, placing 30th with a time of 25:52.01 in the men's eight kilometer race.  Treyton Laurance was 52nd in a time of 26:33.47 while Carson Fouard ran 27:13.38 to place 73rd overall. Jack Harty was 82nd in 27:50.19 and Elijah Edwards ran 27:51.68 to place 84th to round out the Hornets scoring.  Lucas Kreutzer was 85th in a time of 27:56.75 and Gage Chapman ran 28:10.33 to place 88th for the Hornets.
Emma Bartholome was the top finisher for the Emporia State women.  She ran 23:55.90 to place 64th and Mason Bina followed her with a time of 24:07.14 to place 68th over the six kilometers. Brooklyn Nolte was 70th in a time of 24:15.85 with Elizabeth Willhite running 24:35.36 to place 75th and Valerie Freeman clocking 25:16.68 for an 82nd place showing to round out the women's scoring.  Heidi Grimmett was 90th with a time of 25:36.67 and Koe Schultz placed 99th with a time of 25:36.67 for Emporia State.
   
MIAA PRESEASON POLLS
The Emporia State women were picked eighth and the men tenth in the MIAA Cross Country Preseason Coaches Polls released by the Association.
Coach Justin Hill welcomes back five of the top six men and four of the top five women runners from last year and have a total of 20 men and 16 women in the program this year.

HORNET HISTORY 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.