Vancouver, Washington — The Dordt University men’s and women’s cross country team’s historic season came to close, each with an eighth place finish at Friday’s NAIA National Championship in Vancouver, Wash.
Ranked 14th nearly all season, the Defenders bettered that ranking by six spots, placing eighth out of 36 teams with a score of 343 points. This marks the second consecutive season the Defenders finished eighth and is their sixth top 10 finish in program history.
Dordt sophomore Jessica Kampman led the way with a 20th place finish and earned All-American honors (placing in the top 40) for the second consecutive year. Kampman posted a 5K time of 18:46 and is the second, two-time All-American in program history, joining Jen Kempers (2007-08). Kampman placed 31st at last year’s championship run in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and turned in her sixth top 25 finish of the season.
Dordt’s Seven Runners:
20th – Jessica Kampman: 18:46 (All-American)
77th – Annika Homan: 19:29
100th – Eden Winslow: 19:38
117th – Taylor Anema:19:44
126th – Margaret Myskowski:19:49
159th – Brenna Tolkamp: 20:03
202nd – Lucy Borkowski: 20:28
The Defenders made history on the biggest stage as they turned in a program-best eighth place finish at today’s championship. They totaled 245 points and were just six points behind sixth place Lewis-Clark State (Idaho). This was the second top 10 finish for the Defender men’s program (2018 -10th place).
Eric Steiger was the top finisher for the Defenders, completing the 8K course in 34th place with a time of 25:39. Steiger earned All-American honors (placing in the top 40), the fourth Dordt men’s runner to receive the national honor and first since Caleb Drake (2016).
Dordt’s Seven Runners:
34th – Eric Steiger: 25:49 (All-American)
49th – Davis Tebben: 26:07
57th – Joe Anderson: 26:14
59th – Nic Veldhorst: 26:17
71st – Jacob Vander Plaats: 26:27
137th – Ethan Summerhays: 27:03
189th – Trey Engen: 27:30
