Seniors Emil Schlueter and Nathanael Osborne after their last race: Courtesy | Ashley Van Hoose

Sophomore Ally Kuzma took runner-up honors at the recent NCAA Division II Cross Country Regional Championships in Kenosha, Wisconsin, punching her ticket to the NCAA DII National Championships. On the team side, both the men’s and women’s cross country squads placed 11th in their final race of the season.

Kuzma crossed the line of the 6K race in a time of 20:42.02, just four seconds behind the defending NCAA DII national champion and Grand Valley State University runner Lauren Kiley. 

Head coach R.P. White said he was thrilled with Kuzma’s performance. 

“Ally did exactly what we had set out to do,” White said. “She was in a top-five spot early and made sure that she was saving something. It was tremendous for her to be a sophomore in that kind of high-pressure situation and handle herself as well as she did.” 

Kuzma said she was personally satisfied with the way her race went. 

“Going in, the goal was to get top five, a guaranteed spot for nationals, so I was very happy with my placing,” Kuzma said.

Junior Eleanor Clark was the next scoring runner for Hillsdale, finishing in 30th place with a time of 22:00.8. 

White said he has been impressed with Clark’s athletic growth, especially this season. 

“What an awesome career she has had thus far,” White said. “It really just kind of came to fruition this season.” 

Three freshmen rounded out the scoring runners for Hillsdale, all achieving personal best times. Grace Tykocki placed 90th in 23:09.2, Caroline Roberts placed 95th in 23:15.6, and Mavis Banks placed 127th in 23:49.9. 

White said he was pleased with the way the freshman athletes have stepped up on the women’s team. 

“They did a really nice job performing their best on the ultimate scene,” White said. 

On the men’s side, senior Gabe Phillips earned All-Region Honors with a 10th-place finish and a personal best time of 30:42.5 in the 10K race. He was followed by junior Caleb Youngstedt, who placed 32nd in 31:41.7, and senior Nathaniel Osborne, who placed 66th in 32:25.2. Freshmen John Richardson and Jefferson Regitz rounded out Hillsdale’s scoring runners, earning 75th and 105th places in 32:34.1 and 32:59.9, respectively. 

Youngstedt said he was disappointed with the overall results of the meet.

“We did not perform as well as we had hoped,” Youngstedt said. “But a handful of guys had PRs, and our freshmen who had never run a 10K before did really well.”

While most of the team is now finished with the 2025 cross country season, Kuzma will represent Hillsdale at nationals in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Nov. 22.