WATERTOWN, Wis. -- The 2025 Cross Country season brought the opportunity for much-needed experience for Coach Haly Hendricks and a squad of mostly new runners, as 9 of the 13 runners between the two squads came into the season with college running experience.
After an exciting preseason tune-up at the Alumni Run, the Sabercats Men's Cross Country Team qualified for NCCAA Nationals at the very first meet of the season - a feat that hadn't been accomplished for the squad since 2017. After battling difficult competition through the middle races in the season, the Sabercats peaked at NCCAA Super Regionals, as 10 of the 11 runners between the two teams set a collegiate PR.
"This year, we had almost a completely new team," said Coach Haly Hendricks. "And we had some ups and downs through the meets, but the guys started strong by qualifying for Nationals at their first meet. Regionals was probably one of my career highlights of teamwork within the team and the guys' pack running. On the girls side, we all finished with PRs at Regionals, which was a great addition to the success of this season.
"One of my favorite memories from the season was the bus trip back from Nationals - it was great to see the camaraderie. We sang for about an hour on the way back, Gini and Abby brought their violins and we just sang hymns. We always started our races with the reminder of, 'remember for Whom you run,' and it was so great to see the team really take that to heart this year."
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Each runner made significant strides in the season. A list of all PRs and awards is below:
| Season-Best Time (Women) |
Time (5K) |
Date |
Event |
| Gini Cooper |
22:55 |
10/24 |
NCCAA Super Regionals |
| Samantha Prigge |
24:01 |
10/24 |
NCCAA Super Regionals |
| Abigail Dorothy |
26:42 |
10/24 |
NCCAA Super Regionals |
| Dinah Marie |
29:26 |
10/24 |
NCCAA Super Regionals |
| Olivia Barefield |
31:10 |
10/24 |
NCCAA Super Regionals |
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| Season-Best Time (Men) |
Time (8K) |
Date |
Event |
| Andrew Dorothy |
29:42 |
11/14 |
NCCAA Nationals |
| Douglas Smith |
30:53 |
10/24 |
NCCAA Super Regionals |
| Cristian Rodriguez |
32:12 |
11/14 |
NCCAA Nationals |
| Jacob Stille |
32:26 |
11/14 |
NCCAA Nationals |
| Colton Brendel |
33:07 |
10/24 |
NCCAA Super Regionals |
| Ryan Mayer |
33:21 |
11/14 |
NCCAA Nationals |
| Isaac Sandeen |
39:26 |
10/24 |
NCCAA Super Regionals |
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AWARDS
In the semester's-end athletic awards assembly last week, Coach Haly Hendricks and the coaching staff highlighted standout runners from the season, as the team recognized both national award winners and team awards:
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For more on the program, visit their team page HERE (Men) and HERE (Women).
