The No. 6-ranked Men’s and No. 13-ranked Women’s Cross Country teams will travel to Upland for the 2024 Crossroads League Championship.
Both teams are coming off of top-three team finishes from the NAIA Great Lakes Challenge on October 26.
Senior from the Men’s team Eli Fullerton said the team had come together this season and outperformed their expectations after the loss of several All-Americans last year.
“We’ve progressed really well as a team this season, and going into this postseason, we’re in a really good spot to win the league and contend for a top-four spot at nationals,” Fullerton said. “I think we’re putting all the pieces together at the right time.”
The Men’s and Women’s teams are led by first-year coach Brody Beiler, who came from Grand Canyon University as an Assistant Coach.
Junior from the Women’s team, Elizabeth Barrett, said she’s proud of the way the team has handled the transitions from one coach to the next and the work that has been put in to get to this point in the season.
“We’ve always been a high-mileage program, but this year has been a lot more intense with higher volume, so that’s been an adjustment,” Barrett said. “The team dynamic has been different but it has brought on a lot of positive growth that was definitely needed.”
The Men’s team is the highest-ranked team in the Crossroads League, while the Women’s team sits at the number three spot in the Crossroads League, just behind Grace College and Taylor University.
“For our team, I definitely think that we can win. We have a lot of great competition with Spring Arbor, Grace, and Taylor,” Fullerton said. “I definitely think we can win, and we’re going to need everyone to have a good day, but I think we’re in a good spot with training, and we can get the job done and win it.”
The Crossroads League Championship is on Friday, Nov. 8, at 11:30 a.m. in Upland, Indiana.
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