The Event

• 25th-ranked Dordt University will send a group of runners to compete in the Briar Cliff Invite this weekend
• the 8K race will take place at the Adams Nature Reserve in North Sioux City, S.D.
• start time has been moved up to 9:30am due to the predicted heat

Meet Information

• Distance: 8000m
• 9:30am start 
• Course Map
• Live Results (Dakota Timing)

Teams Competing

• Dordt, Northwestern, Briar Cliff, Morningside, Concordia are some of the teams competing this weekend

Defender Notes

• In the Rankings
  • the Defenders dropped three spots from last week's rating to 25th in this week's edition of the NAIA Coaches' poll
  • the Defenders have been ranked in 47 consecutive polls, dating back to the 2018 season
    • this is the 5th longest streak currently in the NAIA
  • during the streak, Dordt has been ranked among the top 10 in 24 polls
  • Dordt was picked to win the conference title based on the GPAC preseason coaches' poll released earlier this season
• GPAC Success
  • the Defenders won their seventh consecutive GPAC title in 2024, a streak that began in 2018
  • this matches the conference record for consecutive GPAC titles won and is the second most by a men's team since the GPAC began in 2000
• National Success
  • the Defenders have qualified for the NAIA Championship 27 seasons (team and/or individual)
  • Dordt won the 2022 NAIA National Championship
  • Dordt has finished among the top 10 at the NAIA National Championship three of the last four years
• Schedule Outlook:
  • Dordt's schedule features five meets during the regular season, including two home events (Sept.13 and Oct.11)
  • this is the third meet of the season
  • the NAIA Championship returns to Tallahassee, Fla. and will be held at the Apalachee Regional Park on Nov.21
  • the GPAC Championship will be held at the Mahoney State Park near Ashland, Neb. on Nov.8
• Coaching Staff
  • Nate Wolf returns for his 11th season as the head of the Dordt Cross Country program
  • Wolf was named the GPAC Coach of the Year in 2024, the 8th time he earned the league's top honor
    • 1st season - 2015
  • Jesse Veenstra and Emilee Heynen round out the Defenders coaching staff
• Last Time Out:
  • Dordt ended up on the podium (top 3 finish) at the Roy Griak Invite held at the Les Bolstad Golf Course in Saint Paul, Minn. on Sept.19
  • the Defenders were the top NAIA team and finished on the podium for just the second time in program history
  • this was just the fourth time an NAIA team recorded a top three finish at Griak
  • two Dordt runners, Truman Johnson (11th) and Luke Swanson (13th), placed among the top 15 and earned a spot on the podium 
  • three additional Defenders, Trace Obbink, Isaac Fagan and Levi Landman, finished in the top 50
• Dordt did not compete at Briar Cliff last year but won the meet in 2023
• Truman Johnson has the 8th fastest time in the GPAC this season (26:19 - Sunflower Open)
• Luke Swanson (11th), Trace Obbink (12th) and Derrek Vander Leest (14th) are also ranked in the top 15 in the GPAC
• Johnson, Swanson and Obbink have been the Defenders top three runners in both meets this season
• Chase Kamp and Derrek Vander Leest have been among the Defenders top seven in both meets
• Tage Hulstein and Swanson lead the Defenders with five career top 10's