TO YOUR MARKS
The Washburn Ichabod cross country teams will begin their postseason run returning to the Missouri Western Cross Country Championships hosted by Northwest Missouri on Saturday morning in St. Joseph, Mo.
 
RACE COVERAGE
Live results: https://results.blacksquirreltiming.com/meets/79633
Championship site: https://themiaa.com/tournaments/?id=123
 
TIMING
The 8K men's race will start at 10 a.m. and the 6K women's race is scheduled to start at 11 a.m.
 
WHO IS GOING
The men's lineup will consist of Brody Anderson, Esteban Boisseau, Aidan Braun, Hunter DeLeeuw, Sebastiaan Horselenberg, Taylor Karcz, Adrian Lehman, Lukas Mehl, Madden Rutherford and Trent Zimbelman.
The women's squad will have Riley Ammons, Riley Britton, Alexis Chadek, Grace Collins, Jolie Evans, Mya Kafka, Monika Panoutsou, Nelly Puente, Kenzie Ross and Misti Schlabach in action.
 
WASHBURN NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Washburn Ichabod men's squad is ranked 11th in the latest USTFCCCA national poll for the third consecutive week. The Ichabods are ranked second in the regional rankings. The Ichabod women's team was left out of the latest national and regional rankings heading into the MIAA Championships.
 
MIAA PRESEASON POLLS
The Washburn Ichabod men's cross country squad was selected to finish second in the 2026 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) men's cross country preseason coaches poll and the women's team was picked to finish seventh.
 
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE ICHABODS
MEN
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- The Washburn men's cross country team was led by a strong performance from freshman Taylor Karcz at the Griffon Open, as eight Ichabods competed in the event.
Karcz paced Washburn with a 21st-place finish, covering the course in 26:22.6. Fellow freshman Aidan Braun was the second Ichabod to cross the finish line, placing 56th overall in 26:57.4.
Freshman Kyle Wagoner continued the strong showing by the Ichabod rookie class, finishing 64th in 27:08.9. Freshman Rhys Johnson followed in 71st place with a time of 27:20.0, while junior Ludovico Vaccari rounded out Washburn's top five finishers in 74th place after posting a time of 27:24.8.
Freshman Gunner Wagner recorded an 81st-place finish in 27:41.5, and sophomore Logan Montgomery completed the course in 29:04.9 to place 114th overall. Freshman Layne Whisler rounded out the Washburn contingent, finishing 116th in 29:18.5.
WOMEN
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- The Washburn Ichabods women's cross country team turned in a strong showing at the Griffon Open on Saturday morning, led by freshman Nelly Puente, who paced the Ichabod women with a fourth-place finish.
Puente covered the course in 18:23.9 to lead a group of 10 Washburn runners competing at the meet. Senior Jolie Evans was the next Ichabod across the finish line, placing 12th in 18:41.0.
Freshman Monika Panoutsou continued her solid season with a 36th-place finish in 19:08.9, followed by junior Riley Britton in 39th with a time of 19:14.4. Freshman Alexis Chadek rounded out Washburn's top five, placing 47th in 19:22.3.
Junior Riley Ammons finished 48th overall in 19:24.6, while junior Grace Collins crossed the line 60th in 19:42.4. Freshman Mya Kafka recorded a time of 19:47.5 to place 70th.
Junior Kenzie Ross completed the course in 20:07.2 for a 88th-place finish, and senior Misti Schlabach rounded out the Ichabod competitors with a time of 20:48.6 finishing 107th.
Washburn placed five runners among the top 50 finishers.
 
ICHABODS AT THE MIAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
MEN
The Washburn men have enjoyed a strong run of success at the MIAA Cross Country Championships in recent years, highlighted by team runner-up finishes in 2023 and third-place finishes in 2025 after back-to-back fourth-place showings in 2022 and 2024. Individually, the Ichabods have produced two MIAA individual champions during the last decade with Jacob Klemz capturing the conference title in 2017 and David Kibet winning the championship in 2023. Donald Kibet has also been among the conference's elite runners, earning first-team All-MIAA honors three straight seasons from 2023-25, including a runner-up finish in 2024 and a third-place finish in 2025. The Ichabods have combined for seven first-team All-MIAA honors and nine honorable mention selections since 2016.
 
WOMEN
The Washburn women have been led by one of the most decorated runners in program history in Sierra Mortensen, who earned first-team All-MIAA recognition four times from 2017-21. Mortensen recorded four top-12 finishes at the conference meet, including a career-best fifth-place finish in 2019. The Ichabods' best team finish over the last decade came in 2019 when Washburn placed fifth overall while also receiving honorable mention All-MIAA performances from Lily Johnson and Kaylee Snell. More recently, the Ichabods have placed seventh at the MIAA Championships in both 2024 and 2025, with Eve Weber earning honorable mention honors in 2024 before Kyla Lochtefeld and Lexie Fontaine both collected honorable mention All-MIAA recognition in 2025.
 
UP NEXT
The Washburn Ichabod men's and women's teams will be back in action on Nov. 21 at the NCAA Central Regional Champinoships in Sioux Falls, S.D. at the Yankton Trail Park - the site of their first action of the season back on Sept. 25. For teams and individuals who advance, the NCAA National Championships will be held at Rim Rock Farms in Lawrence, Kan. on Dec. 4.