LINCOLN, Neb. – Competing against several of the top small school cross country programs in the Midwest, the Black Hills State men's and women's cross country teams ran to a pair of top-5 team finishes on Saturday at the Greeno/Dirksen Invitational. The men's team recorded a fourth place finish with 103 points and highlighted the action with Gavin Kuhlenbeck running to his second consecutive individual title to begin the season. On the women's side, Evie Boyd ran to a top-10 finish to help tally 115 team points.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY

• For the second consecutive meet and the third time in his career, Gavin Kuhlenbeck won the individual title, crossing the finish line first in the 8K in a time of 24:50.06.
• Turner Christians and Dominic Eberle added top-20 finishes with times of 25:42.18 and 25:43.86 for 16^th and 18^th respectively. Christians' time set a new career-best at the distance.
• Landrum Wiley added a career-best time of 26:02.49 for a top-30 finish, crossing the line in 29^th place.
• The trio of Thomas Oylear, Wyatt Ostler, and Emmett Swartzentruber each finished within four seconds of each other, with Oylear leading the way with a time of 26:14.07 for 41^st place. Ostler and Swartzentruber then followed in 46^th and 47^th place with times of 26:16.07 and 26:17.67 respectively. Ostler's time set a new career-best at the distance, and Oylear and Swartzentruber ran at the distance for the first time in their collegiate careers.
• Jaxon Straus rounded out the Yellow Jacket lineup with a top-50 finish, clocking a time of 26:23.79 for 50^th place.

BLACK HILLS STATE MEN'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (236 RUNNERS)

Place	Name	Time	Points
1.	Gavin Kuhlenbeck	24:50.06	1
16.	Turner Christians	25:42.18	16
18.	Dominic Eberle	25:43.86	18
29.	Landrum Wiley	26:02.49	29
41.	Thomas Oylear	26:14.07	39
46.	Wyatt Ostler	26:16.07	46
47.	Emmett Swartzentruber	26:17.67	42
50.	Jaxon Straus	26:23.79

 
MEN'S TEAM RESULTS

Team	Total Points	Team Scoring
1. Nebraska-Kearney	63	5-6-12-14-26-(28)-(30)
2. #11 Northwest Missouri State	85	3-4-23-24-31-(45)-(61)
3. #10 St. Mary (Kan.)	102	7-11-25-27-32-(35)-(37)
4. Black Hills State	103	1-16-18-29-39-(41)-(42)
5. #14 Doane	134	9-13-17-20-75-(76)-(83)
6. #10 Garden City CC	184	8-38-40-47-51-(80)-(85)
7. #2 Iowa Central CC	207	2-10-49-62-84-(98)-(99)
8. Nebraska Wesleyan	212	21-36-43-52-60-(63)-(65)
9. Concordia (Neb.)	223	15-44-50-56-58-(68)-(70)
10. Emporia State	279	34-53-59-64-69-(74)-(87)
11. Bellevue	312	33-57-71-73-78-(88)-(94)
12. Wayne State (Neb.)	340	46-54-55-92-93-(97)-(101)
13. Cloud County CC	367	19-67-72-104-105-(106)-(107)
14. Morningside	394	48-66-89-95-96-(100)-(102)
15. Midland	405	22-81-90-103-109-(114)-(116)
16. #1 Iowa Western CC	448	79-82-86-91-110-(111)-(117)
17. Southwestern CC	525	77-108-112-113-115

 
HOW IT HAPPENED – WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY

• Evie Boyd secured her second top-10 finish of the season and the seventh of her career as she ran to a career-best 5K time of 18:22.33.
• Emma Hofmeister led a trio of Yellow Jackets that also earned top-30 finishes, which also included Abigail Robberson and Mason Berg. Running in their first career 5K races, Hofmeister and Berg finished 21^st and 29^th respectively with times of 19:09.25 and 19:32.13. Robberson notched a career-best time at the race distance, clocking a time of 19:31.89 for 28^th place.
• The third career-best time of the day for BHSU was Sierra Hopp, who ran a time of 19:36.89 for 35^th place.
• Katie Charest ran in her first 5K race since 2022 and finished with a time of 20:04.96 for 56^th place.
• Alyssa Brandt, Gracie Craig, Ava Allen, Kadence Baun, and Abigail Hardersen all ran the first 5K's of their collegiate careers. Brandt and Craig led the group by finishing 42^nd and 48^th respectively with times of 19:53.14 and 19:56.84. Rounding out the Yellow Jacket lineup, Allen finished 75^th with a time of 20:31.39, Baun was 85^th with a time of 20:53.38, and Hardersen was 92^nd with a time of 21:01.07.

BLACK HILLS STATE WOMEN'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (169 RUNNERS)

Place	Name	Time	Points
10.	Evie Boyd	18:22.33	10
21.	Emma Hofmeister	19:09.25	20
28.	Abigail Robberson	19:31.89	26
29.	Mason Berg	19:32.13	27
35.	Sierra Hopp	19:36.89	32
42.	Alyssa Brandt	19:53.14	38
48.	Gracie Craig	19:56.84	43
56.	Katie Charest	20:04.96
75.	Ava Allen	20:31.39
85.	Kadence Baun	20:53.38
92.	Abigail Hardersen	21:01.07

 
WOMEN'S TEAM RESULTS

Team	Total Points	Team Scoring
1. #18 Nebraska-Kearney	37	1-2-3-15-16-(17)-(18)
2. #30 Northwest Missouri State	60	4-8-11-13-24 (34)-(36)
3. Black Hills State	115	10-20-26-27-32-(38)-(43)
4. #5 St. Mary (Kan.)	163	12-23-30-45-53-(78)-(81)
5. Morningside	192	7-33-44-51-57-(60)-(64)
6. College of Saint Mary (Neb.)	205	25-37-41-50-52-(54)-(56)
7. Emporia State	209	19-28-31-49-82-(97)-(100)
8. Concordia (Neb.)	234	9-42-59-61-63-(68)-(70)
9. Nebraska Wesleyan	267	35-47-55-58-72-(73)-(74)
10. Doane	274	39-40-62-66-67-(76)-(85)
11. #13 Garden City CC	290	6-29-80-83-92-(93)-(99)
12. #8 Iowa Central CC	291	14-21-69-86-101-(104)
13. Cloud County CC	334	22-48-75-84-105
14. Wayne State (Neb.)	349	46-65-71-79-88-(89)-(94)
15. Bellevue	363	5-77-87-91-103-(107)
16. Midland	481	90-95-96-98-102-(106)-(108)

 
UP NEXT
Black Hills State will face another strong field of competition their next time out on Saturday, October 11, as they travel to Romeoville, Illinois, for the Lewis Crossover.