For the fourth consecutive year, the Heartland men's and women's cross country teams secured a top-five finish at NJCAA DII Nationals, as the Hawks placed second out of 38 total teams at this year's National Meet on Saturday in Huntsville, Ala. This mark's the program's third second-place finish since its inception in 2020 on the women's side, with the men's team now placing second in back-to-back seasons.
 
NJCAA DII All-Region-24 member Nora Brady paced the women in second place overall out of 199 total runners with a time of 18:05.10. Region-24 Runner of the Year Addysen Clark also finished in the top-10, placing ninth with a time of 18:48.70.

"We did exactly what we practiced and poured our entire hearts into that race," Clark said. "I couldn't be more proud to be a part of a team of such talented, hard-working young women."
 
Kalei McDaniel finished in 19^th with a time of 19:23.90, while Ashleigh Horton finished just behind in 26^th place with a time of 19:45.50. Sophia Nordhielm (39^th, 20:03.10), Emma Good (51^st, 20:15.10) and Emma Cox (71^st, 20:40.20) rounded-out the scoring for the Hawks.
 
On the men's side, All-Region-24 Team selection Ben Huey led the Hawks in 13^th place out of 199 total runners with a time of 25:31.40. USTFCCCA Midwest Region and Region-24 Runner of the Year Matt Padilla finished just behind Huey in 14^th place with a time of 25:34.50. Brock Loftus also secured a top-20 finish in 17^th place at 25:44.90.

"No team wanted it more than us and we knew that," Huey said. "The grit and tenacity that the team showed was incredible. There is no other group of guys I would rather have ran with this season."
 
Placing just behind Loftus in 22^nd place was Eli Mojonnier with a time of 25:54.20. Sam Bushert (24^th, 25:56.00), Collin Delagrange (37^th, 26:26.90) and Colton Knowles (72^nd, 27:18.60) also secured solid finishes for the Hawks.

"We gave it everything we had and gave a championship performance," Heartland head coach Ty Wolf explained. "Almost every one of our runners had their best race ever."

The Hawks end the year with 10 combined top-two finishes. Also prior to the race, Wolf was named the USTFCCCA Midwest Region Men's Coach of the Year, and was selected to become the Vice President of the NJCAA USTFCCCA.