The Event

• the No.17 Dordt University men's cross country team begins their postseason as the Defenders will compete in the 2026 Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Championship
• the 2026 championship will be held at the Defenders home cross country course on the campus of Dordt University
• Saturday's race (Nov.7) is set to begin at 10:45am

Meet Information:

• Distance: 8000m
• 10:45am start
• Defenders Cross Country Course
• 8K Course Map
• Watch (Dordt Media Network)
• Live Results (Black Squirrel Timing)

Teams Competing:

• 11 schools from the GPAC are scheduled to compete for the championship on Saturday; Briar Cliff, Concordia, Dakota Wesleyan, Doane, Dordt, Hastings, Midland, Morningside, Mount Marty, Northwestern and Waldorf.

At Stake: 

• each team can run up to 10 runners with the top seven counting toward the team score.
• the team with the lowest point total will win the GPAC Championship and receive one of the two automatic bids to the 2026 NAIA National Championship, held this year at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site in Vancouver, Wash.
• the second place team will get the second auto bid.
• top 15 individual finishers earn all-conference honors; the top four individuals, not on a qualifying team and as long as they place in the top 15, will also advance to nationals. 

In the Rankings:

• the Defenders are ranked 17th in the current NAIA Coaches' poll
• the Defenders totaled a season-high 266 points, 13 in back of Eastern Oregon and 19 more than No.18 IU East
  • Dordt moved past both Rio Grande (Ohio) and Saint Mary (Kan.) in the poll
• Dordt has been ranked or received votes in all five polls this season
  • the Defenders received votes in the preseason ranking
• Dordt is the lone team from the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) in the top 25; one of two from the conference recognized in the top 25 or earning votes
  • Dordt - #17
  • Doane - RV

An Impressive Streak:  

• Dordt has been ranked in the top 25 or receiving votes in 56 straight NAIA polls

GPAC Championship History:

• The Defenders have won seven of the last eight GPAC titles and have finished among the top five in each of the last 18 years, the last 11 under the direction of head coach Nate Wolf.
  • GPAC Titles
    • 2024 - 41pts
    • 2023 - 23pts
    • 2022 - 17pts
    • 2021 - 15pts
    • 2020 - 34pts
    • 2019 - 28pts
    • 2018 - 37pts
• Top Five Finishes as a Team at GPAC:
  • 2025 - 2nd
  • 2017 - 3rd
  • 2016 - 2nd
  • 2015 - 3rd
  • 2014 - 3rd
  • 2013 - 4th
  • 2012 - 5th
  • 2011 - 2nd
  • 2010 - 3rd
  • 2009 - 5th
  • 2008 - 5th
• five Dordt runners, Eric Steiger (2018), Davis Tebben (2021), Joe Anderson (2022) and Aidan Vorster (2023) and Truman Johnson (2025), have won the GPAC individual title

• Harv Vander Burgt won the District 15 individual championship in 1982
  Jerrold Wynja won the District 15 title in 1981 and 1980

Last Year's Championship:

• Dordt University finished second at the 2025 GPAC Championship
• the 2025 championship was run at Mahoney State Park near Ashland, Neb.
• Results |  Recap

The Defenders placed five runners in the top 20 to secure a team score of 50 points, just behind host Doane University, which won the meet with 36 points. Concordia (65pts), Northwestern (116pts) and Midland (157pts) round out the top five.

This was the Defenders third runner-up finish to go with its seven conference titles; Dordt has finished among the top five teams at the conference championship 18 straight years.

• three Defenders finished among the top 10 and seven placed in the top 25
  • Truman Johnson - 1st: 24:45
  • Luke Swanson - 5th: 25:02
  • Tage Hulstein - 9th: 25:12
  • Hudson Hamilton - 17th: 25:49
  • Steven Hebert - 18th: 25:54
  • Levi Landman - 19th: 25:56
  • Chase Kamp - 20th: 26:02
  • Derrek Vander Leest - 26th: 26:22
  • Isaac Fagan - 28th: 26:22
  • Trace Obbink - 40th: 27:07

Defender Notes:

• National Success
  • the Defenders have qualified for the NAIA Championship 27 seasons (team and / or individual)
  • they have qualified as a team 11 times, most recently in 2024
  • Dordt won the 2022 NAIA National Championship
  • Dordt has finished among the top 10 at the NAIA National Championship three of their last four appearances

  The Line-Up (2026 Season Results):

  • Lawson Burkhart
    • 2026 Season Notes:
      • competed in four meets
      • one top 25 finish
      • season best: 25:39 @ Augustana
  • Isaac Fagan
    • 2026 Season Notes:
      • competed in four races
      • one top 10 finish
      • two two 25's
      • season best: 26:09 @ Blazing Tiger
    • GPAC History:
      • 2025 - 28th
  • Brett Gifford
    • 2026 Season Notes:
      • competed in four meets
      • two top 25 finishes
      • season best: 25:44 @ Augustana
  • Hudson Hamilton
    • 2026 Season Notes:
      • competed in four races
      • two top 10's, three top 25
      • season best: 24:45 @ Augustana
    • GPAC History:
      • 2025 - 17th
  • Justin Kroeze
    • 2026 Season Notes:
      • competed in four races
      • one top 10 finish
      • season best time: 25:51 @ Augustana
  • Trace Obbink
    • 2026 Season Notes: 
      • ran in four meets
      • two top 10's / four top 25's
      • season best time: 24:48 @ Augustana
    • GPAC History:
      • 2025: 40th
      • 2024: 36th
  • Jackson Prins
    • 2026 Season Notes:
      • competed in four meets
      • one top 10 / four top 25's
      • season best time: 24:57 @ Augustana
  • Tyler Rozenboom
    • 2026 Season Notes:
      • competed in four meets
      • one top 10 finish
      • season best time: 25:48 @ Augustana
  • Caleb Van Beek
    • 2026 Season Notes:
      • competed in four meets
      • one top 10 finish / two top 25's
      • season-best time: 25:23 @ Augustana
  • Jamison Velzke
    • 2026 Season Notes:
      • competed in four meets
      • one top 10 finish / two top 25's
      • season-best time: 25:10 @ Augustana
  • Bennett Visser
    • 2026 Season Notes:
      • competed in three meets
      • one top 10 / three top 25's
      • season-best time: 25:43 @ Blazing Tiger