SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University men's and women's cross country teams begin the 2025 season with an event special to them and many in the community as they host the tenth annual Gage McSpadden Memorial Invite. Named in honor of former Yellow Jacket runner, the event will take place at the Fort Meade Recreation Area in Sturgis, beginning at 6 p.m. on Friday, September 5.
 
RACE DETAILS
Date & Times: Friday, September 5 – women's 4K race will begin at 6 p.m. while the men's 6K race will begin at 6:30 p.m.
Location: Sturgis, S.D. – Fort Meade Recreation Area
 
BLACK HILLS STATE MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY STORYLINES

• Black Hills State, who recorded team victories at the Blue Hawk Invitational and the Mount Marty Cross Country Invitational in 2024 is projected to finish 11^th in the RMAC Cross Country Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• A year ago the Green & Gold finished 12^th at the RMAC Cross Country Championships and tenth at the NCAA Division II Cross Country South Central Regional. The tenth place regional finish was the team's best since 2018.
• The Yellow Jackets return each of their top-4 runners from last year's regional meet, including All-South Central Region performer Gavin Kuhlenbeck. In 2024 Kuhlenbeck set a career-best mark at the 8K distance, running to a school-record time of 23:57.6 for fifth place at the UAH Chargers Invitational, which saw a field of 336 athletes compete.
• Joining the senior will also be Turner Christians, Dominic Eberle, and Braik Hurm, all of which finished 76^th or better in the regional race of 162 athletes. Christians and Hurm, who both will be upperclassmen this year, each set career-best times at the 6K, 8K, and 10K distances a year ago, while Eberle worked his way into a scoring position for the Green & Gold as just a freshman last year.
• The trio of Emmett Swartzentruber, Sean Shipp, and Gage Kuhlenbeck, highlight a group of six newcomers for BHSU.
• Swartzentruber will arrive in the Black Hills as a state champion in Iowa, clinching the 2023 IHSAA Class 2A state title with a 5K time of 15:51.0 for Mid-Prarie.
• Shipp, a local athlete from Custer High School, helped lead the Wildcats to a fifth place team finish in the 2023 SDHSAA Class A meet with a sixth place finish and a 5K time of 16:00.17, and then a year later in 2024 his fifth place finish (16:49.99) pushed the team up to second on the podium.
• Kuhlenbeck, will join his older brother Gavin this upcoming season, bringing with him a resume that includes three trips to the WIAA Division I Championship in Wisconsin, where he closed out his prep cross country career with an 18^th place finish and a 5K time of 16:07.1 for Hamilton High School in 2024.
• Brian Medigovich is in his fifth season leading the Yellow Jacket cross country programs as the Director of Track & Field and Cross Country. 

BLACK HILLS STATE MEN'S RUNNERS

• Anthony Ackerman, Turner Christians, Dominic Eberle, Gabe Johnson, Gage Kuhlenbeck, Gavin Kuhlenbeck, Wyatt Ostler, Thomas Oylear, Jonah Rigg, Sean Shipp, Evan Smith, Alberto Spotted, Jaxon Straus, Emmett Swartzentruber, and Landrum Wiley.

MEN'S TEAMS COMPETING

• Black Hills State, Carleton, Central Wyoming, Chadron State, Montana State-Billings, Rocky Mountain, and South Dakota Mines.

BLACK HILLS STATE WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY STORYLINES

• Black Hills State earned one team victory last season, occurring at the Blue Hawk Invitational with a perfect score of 15 points, it was their first since the 2018 DII West Region Preview.
• The Green & Gold are projected to finish tenth in the RMAC Cross Country Preseason Coaches' Poll, after securing a tenth place finish at last season's RMAC Cross Country Championships and a 13^th place finish at the NCAA Division II Cross Country South Central Regional.
• The Yellow Jackets return their top-3 runners from last season's regional meet and bring back five of the seven runners that competed in that race.
• Evie Boyd, who was the lead runner for the Green & Gold in the regional last year, posted a career-best 6K time of 22:17.8 at the RMAC Cross Country Championships, and notched a career-best 4K time of 15:31.1 in the season-opening Gage McSpadden Memorial Invite.
• Katelyn Krieger, who joins Boyd as an upperclassman on this year's squad, ran her fastest career 6K at the UAH Chargers Invite with a time of 22:40.1 as she placed 80^th in the field of 272 athlete's last season.
• Rounding out the top trio for BHSU is Emma Hofmeister, who is coming off a strong freshman campaign that included a pair of top-10 finishes. Hofmeister was the top finisher for BHSU at the RMAC Championships as she ran a season-best 6K time of 22:14.9.
• Other notable returners for the Yellow Jackets include Gracie Craig and Abigail Robberson. Craig appeared in three meets last season as a freshman, which was highlighted by a career-best 6K of 22:43.1 at the RMAC Championships and a career-best 4K of 15:32.2 for a 12^th place finish at the Gage McSpadden Memorial. Robberson also posted career-best 6K and 4K times a year ago, which included a time of 23:07.9 for 108^th in the large field at the UAH Chargers Invitational and a time of 16:37.3 at the Gage McSpadden Memorial to begin the year.
• Black Hills State will welcome seven newcomers this season.
• Nicole Clark was a 3-time state qualifier for Natrona County High School, as she posted a seventh place finish in the WHSAA Class 4A Cross Country Championship in both 2022 and 2023 with times of 19:46.29 and 19:52.9 respectively. She closed out her senior season with an 11^th place finish at the state meet with a time of 20:08.3.
• Abby Hardersen will arrive in Spearfish as a 4-time state qualifier for Kildeer High School in North Dakota, where she posted three top-20 finishes. As both a sophomore and a senior she cracked the top-15 of the NDHSAA Class B Cross Country Championship, notching a time of 20:36.5 for 15^th in 2022 and 20:19.1 for 13^th in 2024.
• Brian Medigovich is in his fifth season leading the Yellow Jacket cross country programs as the Director of Track & Field and Cross Country.

BLACK HILLS STATE WOMEN'S RUNNERS

• Ava Allen, Kadence Baun, Mason Berg, Evie Boyd, Alyssa Brandt, Jillian Brennan, Brooklyn Brooks, Katie Charest, Gracie Craig, Abigail Hardersen, Emma Hofmeister, Sierra Hopp, Abigail Robberson, Zena Tapia, and Jacey Wipf

WOMEN'S TEAMS COMPETING

• Black Hills State, Carleton, Central Wyoming, Chadron State, Montana State-Billings, Rocky Mountain, and South Dakota Mines.