The Dordt University men's cross country team matched a program record with 18 runners earning Scholar Athlete honors for the 2025 season announced by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).
The 18 Defenders named to the national academic list matches the 2020 season.
The national office announced the complete list of Scholar Athletes for the fall season and Dordt led all institutions with 132 total honorees. Reinhardt (Ga.) was a distant second (86), followed by Marian (Ind.) with 85.
The Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) led all conferences with 693 scholar athletes for the fall.
In order to be nominated by an institution's head coach or sports information director, a student-athlete must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale, must appear on the eligibility certificate for the sport and have attended one full year at said institution.
Defenders who earned the honor for the third time (7):
Chase Kamp
Levi Landman
Sam May
Luke Swanson
Graham Vande Vegte
Derrek Vander Leest
Josiah Wittenberg
Defenders who earned the honor for the second time (1):
Jonathan Breems
Defenders who earned the honor for the first time (10):
Levi Baart
Lawson Burkhart
Isaac Fagan
Brett Gifford
Truman Johnson
Sammy King
Justin Kroeze
Ezra Landman
Tavin Schroeder
Abel Squires
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