Cross country will conclude its unexpected season at the NAIA National Championship. The women’s cross country team left for their journey to nationals on Tuesday along with Mathew Keitany from the men’s cross country team. The women’s team consists of Ella Armstrong, Mercy Chebet, Stephany Claudio, Caroline Jelimo, Marin Kauffman Smith, Britney Ortega and Teresa Ross Richer. The championship will take place in Columbia, Missouri and they will race on Friday.  This is the second time the women’s team has ever qualified to nationals after  the  Leafs’ “impactful,” season, in the words of Coach Lisa Voyles. Last year was a...

By Caoimhe Farrell • November 21, 2024 • Sports

On the Goshen College campus, there are quite a few podcasts: the Goshen College podcast, which is centered around GC’s convos and chapels, the “Just Plain Wrong” podcast, which focuses on religious fictional works, and a few more to boot. However, another podcast on campus launched not too long ago. The Maple Mile podcast, which has been in talks for awhile, has finally broken into the scene. The Maple Mile is a podcast managed by Max Estep, a first-year engineering physics major. Its co-hosts are Jesse Bontrager, a first-year exercise science major, and Isaiah Beiter, a junior social work major. ...

By Cheyenne Flanagan • October 24, 2024 • Features

Jordan Ross Richer   On Saturday, Sept. 28, Ross Richer scored a goal, the first of his Goshen career, to put the Leafs up 3-2 against Marian University. Ross Richer’s goal came from close to the halfway line, also receiving recognition online for its significance. Though the game ended as a tie, it was a riveting back and forth watch.  Mathew Keitany  Keitany, at the Gans Creek Classic on Friday, Sept. 27, broke a school record set by Nelson Kemboi in 2021, running a 24:37.4 8k. Keitany also finished 15th out of 389 total competitors, improving at least 38 places...

By Griffin Eash • October 4, 2024 • Sports

Goshen College cross-country athletes excelled last Friday at the Gans Creek Classic, held in Columbia, Missouri. The team showed up to the meet in full force, achieving impressive times in the process.  Starring for the women’s team was none other than Mercy Chebet, a senior nursing major. Chebet ran a 22:17.5 in the 6k race, placing her 30th overall out of 307 athletes. This time broke her previous 6k best — and school record — in style. Chebet said, “I was happy with my performance and I believe that there is always room for improvement.”  Chebet’s achievement led her to...

By Caoimhe Farrell • October 4, 2024 • Sports

The cross country teams ended their 2023 season in Vancouver, Washington, at the NAIA National Championships. The women finished 15th in the nation, and the men finished 16th. This was the first time the women’s team made it to the championships, and the men’s fifth straight visit. For both teams, it was their best overall performance in school history.  Mercy Chebet was named an All-American for her 34th-place finish out of 331 runners. Chebet was in 128th place at the one-mile mark of the 6K (3.73-mile) race, but moved into the top 40 — the cutoff to qualify as an...

By Emme Boots • November 30, 2023 • Sports

With just one meet to go before the NAIA National Championships, the men’s and women’s cross country teams are peaking at just the right time. Last Saturday, both teams traveled to the NAIA Great Lakes Challenge meet, which took place in Grand Rapids, Michigan. With nearly 30 schools present, the Leafs rose to the challenge. The women’s team placed second out of 22 competitors and the men’s team took home fourth place out of 27 competitors. To head coach Rustin Nyce, the achievements set the team up well for the coming Crossroads League Championships at Taylor University on Nov. 3. ...

By Meaghan Godzisz • October 26, 2023 • Sports

The Goshen College cross country teams traveled to Louisville, Kentucky, on Saturday, where they competed in the “Live in Lou Cross Country Classic.” The men placed seventh of 46 teams in the 8K blue race. GC’s men’s team is currently ranked No. 13 nationally, and they beat multiple ranked teams: No. 11 Grace, No. 13 Taylor, No. 14 St. Francis, No. 15 Aquinas, No. 17 Lewis-Clark St. and No. 22 Olivet Nazarene.  The women placed 30th of 41 in the 5K blue race and are currently ranked No. 24. The women beat all teams receiving votes in the NAIA coaches...

By Emme Boots • October 5, 2023 • Sports

The men’s and women’s cross country teams began their season on Sept. 1 at the Winrow-Valparaiso Open in Valparaiso. The meet was made up of NCAA Division I schools and fellow NAIA team Grace College.  GC men’s and women’s teams were nationally ranked in the preseason polls. The men are ranked No. 13 and the women are ranked No. 24.  The top performer for the men was junior Mathew Keitany, who placed sixth. Close behind were two more GC runners, senior Nelson Kemboi and sophomore Drew Hogan. Kemboi placed seventh, and Hogan took eighth place. Rounding out the top five...

By Emme Boots • September 8, 2023 • Sports

The Goshen College men’s cross-country team entered the NAIA National Championship race ranked 26th in the nation. “Having experience at nationals, we know that a lot of people go out way too hard,” head coach Rustin Nyce said. “In order to not get caught up in that … we raced smart and patient. We went out fast enough, but everybody else went out faster.”  The race strategy worked well for the Maple Leafs. Between the 1.17 kilometer mark (the first timing checkpoint, where the Leafs sat in 31st position) and the finish line, Goshen’s seven runners combined to pass 581...

By Daniel James • December 1, 2022 • Sports

On Friday, the men’s and women’s cross-country teams competed in the Crossroads League Tournament in Shelbyville, IN, in the last race before the NAIA National Championships, which will take place in Tallahassee, Florida, on Nov. 18. The 36-team field for the championships was announced on Tuesday. The men finished 26th in the rankings, good enough for an at-large bid and a spot in the national finals. The top 30 teams are eligible for an at-large bid. The women finished with a ranking of 31st, missing nationals by the slimmest of margins. On Saturday, though, the team finished in fifth place...

By Meaghan Godzisz • November 10, 2022 • Sports

A black pickup truck pulled up to the group’s first campsite, signifying the arrival of elected Apache leader and extreme distance runner Wendsler Nosie. He’s spearheading the fight for the Apache people to retain their land from Resolution Copper, a mining company that seeks to mine the copper-rich land located within 15 miles of Oak Flat, Arizona. The man’s appearance was no small feat— Nosie has been shot at on multiple occasions, and he is frequently tracked. “He told us that night that he was going to leave tomorrow morning, and we’re like, oh, okay,” said Arleth Martinez, sophomore biochemistry...

By Phil Witmer-Rich • September 8, 2022 • Features

As the NAIA cross-country season began last week, the Goshen College men’s and women’s teams both appeared in the preseason national coaches’ poll.  The men’s team, which finished 24th at the NAIA National Championship last year, are now ranked 23rd in the nation, while the women’s team received votes.  “I always have a word for the year, and this year that word is process,” said head coach Rustin Nyce.  “I don’t want to focus on the national meet; we need to focus on doing the right steps throughout the whole process to get ourselves where we want to be in...

By Daniel James • September 8, 2022 • Sports

The men’s and women’s cross country teams ran their final regular season race of the year on Nov. 6 at Huntington University.  This race, the Crossroads League Championship, was the final factor in determining which teams would qualify for the National Championship. There were 10 teams in both the men’s and women’s races. The top finishing team in each race would automatically qualify for nationals. and the remaining teams would rely on a panel of national raters to vote them in. Erica Gunden, a senior, said, “I had more pre-race anxiety than any other meet this season.”  Liam Minielly, a...

By Dakota Cain • November 11, 2021 • Sports

As we welcome November and decreasing temperatures, fall sports at Goshen College have begun to come to a close. However, the women’s soccer team and the men’s and women’s cross country teams are the last ones standing for the Maple Leafs.  The women’s soccer team was able to clinch a Crossroads League tournament spot with their 3-0 shutout win against Huntington on Tuesday afternoon. Head coach Justin Crew said, “It’s been an up and down season, we have had some highs and some lows, however, I believe we continue to move in the right direction as a program.” This is...

By Graysen Cockerham • November 4, 2021 • Sports

Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams broke records at the Great Lakes Challenge in Grand Rapids last weekend. The top five runners on the women’s team broke the school record set in 2002 with a time of 97.44 (scored by adding together the finishing times of the top 5 GC finishers), breaking the previous record of 99.06. The group was made up of Annika Fisher, Naomi Richer, Summer Cooper, Stephany Claudio, and Ariana Perez Diener.  On the men’s side, Nelson Kemboi broke the Goshen College record for the fastest 8km (5 mi) run with a time of 24.38...

By Dakota Cain • October 28, 2021 • Sports