The Event

• the Dordt University men's cross country team begins its 2026 season with a home meet, the Sunflower Open presented by Rankin / Veenstra Wealth Management, this weekend
• the Defenders, who earned votes in the NAIA preseason coaches' poll released in August, will compete against four teams on Saturday, September 12
• start time for the men's 6K race is at 10:40am

Meet Information

• Distance: 6000m
• 10:40am
• Defenders Cross Country Course
• Course Map / Meet Info
• Entry List |
• Watch (Dordt Media Network)
• Live Results (Dakota Timing)

Teams Competing

• 5 teams / 107 runners are scheduled to compete
  • Briar Cliff (GPAC)
  • Dakota State (Frontier)
  • Dordt (GPAC)
  • Northwestern (GPAC)
  • Waldorf (GPAC)

Defender Notes

• GPAC Success
  • the Defenders have won seven of the last eight GPAC titles (2018-24)
  • this matched the conference record for consecutive GPAC titles won and is the second most by a men's team since the GPAC began in 2000
  • Dordt has finished among the top five teams for 18 consecutive seasons
• A Look back 2025
  • the Defenders ended the 2025 season earning votes in the final NAIA Coaches' poll
  • two Defenders, Luke Swanson and Truman Johnson, qualified for nationals
  • Dordt finished second to Doane at the GPAC Championship
  • three Defenders, Johnson, Swanson and Tage Hulstin, earned all-conference honors
  • Johnson was the GPAC Champion and earned GPAC and Regional Runner of the Year
  • both Johnson and Swanson claimed GPAC Runner of the Week 1x during the season
  • Dordt won two of its seven meets and finished among the top three in six of the seven meets
  • 2025 Results | 
• National Success In the Rankings
  • the Defenders have qualified for the NAIA Championship 28 seasons (team and/or individual)
  • Dordt won the 2022 NAIA National Championship
  • Dordt finished among the top 10 at the NAIA National Championship three of the last five years
  • the Defenders did not qualify as a team last season, ending a seven-year streak
  • the Defenders begin the season earning votes in the NAIA preseason coaches' poll
  • the Defenders have been ranked in 51 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
• About 2025:
  • the Defenders return three of their top five, seven of their top 10 runners from 2025; 35 total runners return
  • Roster Notes:
    • 47 total runners
      • 6 seniors
      • 12 juniors
      • 17 sophomores
      • 12 freshmen
  • Schedule Outlook:
    • Dordt's schedule features four meets during the regular season, including two home events (Sept.12 and Oct.10)
    • the Defenders also will compete at the Augustana Invite (Sept.25 in Sioux Falls) and the Blazing Tiger Classic (Oct.24 in Ashland, Neb.)
    • the GPAC Championship will be held at the Defenders home course on Nov.7
    • the NAIA Championship returns to once again to Fort Vancouver, Washington at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site on Nov.20
• Coaching Staff
  • Nate Wolf returns for his 12th season as the head of the Dordt Cross Country program
  • Wolf was named the NAIA Coach of the Year after leading the Defenders to the national title in 2022
  • Wolf has received the USTFCCCA Midwest Regional honor in four of the last five years and a total of five years
  • Wolf is a 7x GPAC Coach of the Year
  • 1st season - 2015
  • Jesse Veenstra and Emilee Heynen round out the Defenders coaching staff
• Top Returners:
  • Truman Johnson - 2025 GPAC Champion / Runner of the Year; 4 top 10's,8 top 25's
  • Hudson Hamilton - 2 top 10's, 4 top 25's
  • Jamison Velzke - 1 top 10, 3 top 25's
  • Steven Hebert - 3 top 25's
  • Justin Kroeze - 2 top 25's
  • Trace Obbink - 1 top 10