Men's Cross Country | 9/10/2026 9:47:00 PM

Emporia State Cross Country
at Ollie Isom
El Dorado Legion Disc Golf Course/BG Product Stadium • El Dorado, Kan.
Friday, September 11 • Women's 5K at 9:00 a.m./Men's 8K at 10:45 a.m.
Live Results | Complete Notes in pdf
Up Next: Gans Creek Classic
Friday, September 25 • 9:45 a.m.
Gans Creek Cross Country Course • Columbia, Mo.

DOWN THE TURNPIKE
Emporia State travels down I-35 to take part in the Ollie Isom Invitational. Emporia State will be jioned by Bethany, Butler CC, Coffeyville CC, Colby CC, Dodge City CC, Fort Hays State, Fort Hays Tech Northwest, Garden City CC, Hastings, Highland CC, Manhattan Christian, McPherson, Neosho County CC and Pratt CC in El Dorado, Kan.

LAST RUN
Both the Emporia State men's and women's cross country teams placed third at the JK Gold Classic in Wichita.
The Hornet men had three runners under 20 minutes on the six kilometer course led by Dylan Hunter in a time of 19:14.14 to place 11th overall.  Jordan Schriebaum at 19:56.81, Bryce Roberts at 19:57.62 and Carson Fouard at 20:02.10 were packed in the 22nd through 24th places. Isaac Ibendahl led another pack of Hornets in 29th place in a time of 20:12.06 to round out the ESU scoring.  Ibendahl was followed by Gage Chapman at 20:19.85 in 30th and Lucas Kreutzer in 20:22.56 to place 31st overall.
Freshmen took four of the five scoring positions for the Emporia State women.  Montgomery Morgan was the top finisher for the Hornets in a time of 19:46.41 to place 16th while fellow freshman Brett Jacobson ran 20:07.75 to place 19th overall.  Emma Bartholome was the lone returner in the top six for Emporia State as she ran 20:19.96 to place 22nd over the five kilometer course.  Brecken Howell ran 20:30.67 to place 25th and Lilly Skalsky placed 32nd in a time of 20:55.77 to round out the scoring for the Hornets.  Britta Mongeau was 32nd in a time of 21:10.63 while Brooklyn Nolte came in 39th at 21:16.84 with Maria Ham one spot back in 21:16.84 to place 40th overall.

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.

LAST TIME AT THE OLLIE ISOM
The Emporia State women sent four freshman and two sophomores to the Ollie Isom Invitational and came away with a third place finish in 2019. The Hornet men did not send anyone to the Ollie.
Karli Elsner led the Hornets with a 12th place finish with a time of 21:20.8 over the five kilometers. Devlyn Brill and Kendall Williams finished back to back in 14th and 15th place with times of 21:39.6 and 21:57.3 respectively. Natalie Brandt was the other Hornet in the top 20 with a time of 22:46.6 to finish in 19th place.
 
MIAA PRESEASON POLLS
The MIAA released the 2026 Cross Country Coaches Polls and the Emporia State women are ranked eighth and the men tenth to start the season.
The Hornets welcome 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

HOW TOUGH IS IT?
There are six women's teams and five men's teams from the Central Region ranked in the USTFCCCA National Top 30. The MIAA alone has four women's teams and three men's teams in the 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.
Seven different Association schools are represented in the USTFCCCA Central Regional Rankings. The MIAA men have six of the top ten spots while the women take up five of the top eight positions in the rankings.

UP NEXT
The Hornets will leave the state of Kansas for the first time this season to take part in the Gans Creek Classic hosted by the University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo. The Classic will be held on the Gans Creek Course that will serve as the host site for the 2026 SEC Championship.