The Goshen College men’s and women’s cross country teams traveled to the E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park in Kentucky this past weekend to run in the 20th Annual Louisville Cross Country Classic. Competing in the Blue Race division, season-best and career-best records were shattered by numerous GC athletes and the teams returned home in high spirits.  Head coach Rustin Nyce said, “Louisville is always a big opportunity for us to compete against many of the best regional teams.” “In the past, we have felt like we had already run our best races, but we are now starting to put some...

By Graysen Cockerham • October 7, 2021 • Sports

The Goshen College men’s cross country team ran over a minute faster at their race last Friday, Sept. 24, than they did at this time last year. For a team seeking to continue its two-year streak of qualifying NAIA for the National Championship, that is  a good sign.   Goshen’s top five runners (Nelson Kemboi, Liam Elias, Jackson Steinmetz, Jordan Garlinger, and Edwin Kimutai) covered the 8-kilometer course at their second meet of the season in Findlay, Ohio, in a combined 2 hours, 11 minutes, and 39 seconds.   “That’s not just a little faster,” said Rustin Nyce, head coach for the...

By Sierra Ross Richer • September 30, 2021 • Sports

The Goshen College cross country team introduced a new face to their coaching staff with the addition of Anna Mast this season. Mast is a 2008 GC graduate, and ran cross country and track during her time here. Head cross country coach Rustin Nyce praised Mast for what she brings to the table. “Anna brings great experience relating to college students as a previous business owner and employer of college students,” he said. “She also competed here at GC, so that adds to her expertise and she relates very well to the student-athletes and provides specific mentorship to the women’s...

By Gabe Kermode • September 9, 2021 • Sports

In the interim between the indoor and outdoor track seasons, Goshen College runners turned their attention to longer distance runs on a trip to Iowa last weekend. They returned with top two finishes in each of the three races they entered. On Saturday, the men’s and women’s cross country teams laced up their spikes and hit the grass course at the Mustang National Preview meet in Cedar Rapids, more than three months after the last race of their season in November. This year, the cross country season — which is normally contained to the fall — was extended to include...

By Sierra Ross Richer • March 25, 2021 • Sports

The Goshen College men’s cross country team traveled to Marian, Indiana on Friday, November 6 where they competed in the Crossroads League Championship.  The highlight of the weekend was when Goshen College sophomore Nelson Kemboi was crowned Crossroads League champion, posting a time of 25 minutes and 4.9 seconds in the 8k race. Kemboi crossed the finish line five seconds faster than his next opponent.  Kemboi’s time hoisted him to the eighth fastest time in program history. Kemboi has also set the mark for the fastest time as a sophomore ever recorded by a Maple Leaf.  “Winning the Crossroads League...

By William Troyer • November 12, 2020 • Sports

Despite the rise in confirmed cases of COVID-19 among Goshen College athletic teams, the men’s and women’s cross country teams have continued their season as planned. The men’s cross country team was off to an impressive start in the early portion of the season, finishing sixth of 18 teams at Indiana Wesleyan University’s Twilight Classic back on Sep. 11. First-year GC runner Nelson Kemboi nearly broke into the record books with an impressive time of 26:12 on the nearly five-mile course.  To crack the top 50, Kemboi would need to hit 25:57.2. After almost a month of inactivity due to...

By Dante Stanton • October 15, 2020 • Sports

In August, the National Association of Intercollegiate Associations announced championships for fall and winter sports would be moved to spring 2021.  These changes will affect indoor track and field, men’s and women’s basketball, with their championships moved to next March.  In addition, cross country, men’s and women’s volleyball, and women’s soccer championship games will take place in April, with men’s soccer and tennis set for May. This change, as a result of COVID-19, has altered the fall sports seasons, ultimately posing the question, “How will the teams deal with this?” “We are saving some of our eight races for the...

By Gabe Kermode • September 17, 2020 • Sports

The Goshen College cross country team was tested for COVID-19 last Thursday, Aug. 27, becoming the first Maple Leaf athletic team to do so. All results came back negative. By Thursday, Sept. 2,  all fall athletic teams will have taken part in COVID-19 testing in anticipation of a Sept. 5 start. While the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics withdrew their COVID-19 test requirement for all athletes, the Crossroads League, of which Goshen College is a member, continues to plan carrying out testing. “The Crossroads League decided to test all fall athletes,” said Erica Albertin, interim athletic director. “The main reason...

By Gabe Kermode • September 3, 2020 • Sports

Neither the men’s and women’s cross country teams nor Jason Potsander, for whom the award was named, were expecting the addition of a new award when they gathered for the annual awards banquet on Sunday, Feb. 9. In years prior, head coach Rustin Nyce handed out “The GCXC Heart Award”, but this year it was presented to one male and one female athlete under a new name: “The Jason Potsander Character Award”.  Jason Potsander is a 2001 graduate of Goshen College who has faced many physical challenges in his long history of running. As a student, he competed on the...

By Kadie Daye • February 16, 2020 • Sports

The men and women’s cross country teams put together strong showings at the Louisville Sports Commission Classic last Saturday; with the men posting the fastest team time in program history.  The men finished 33rd overall, good for fourth among NAIA schools. Senior Vincent Kibunja clocked in first for Goshen for the third race in a row. He achieved a personal best as well as the second-fastest run in the schools program history with a time of 24:49.7, good for 68th overall.  Salvador Escamilla, a junior, finished 134th overall with a personal best of 25 minutes and 15.9 seconds; the eighth...

By Zack Begly • October 9, 2019 • Sports

The Goshen College men’s cross country team had eight athletes achieve personal bests this past Saturday at the Knight Invitational at Calvin College. The Maple Leafs finished eighth overall and second among NAIA schools. Goshen secured three top 40 places as Vincent Kibunja led the Maple Leafs with a 15th-place finish. The senior posted a time of 25 minutes and 40 seconds which was the 20th-fastest time in the programs history. Liam Ellis, a sophomore, was next to cross the line for the Maple Leafs with a time of 27:07.2, in 37th-place. He was followed three places behind by Salvador...

By Megan Bower • September 12, 2019 • Sports

The Goshen College men’s cross country team placed third and the women ninth at the Crossroads League conference championship meet at Taylor University last Saturday. The men also had seven runners finish in the top 50, including two in the top 20. Vincent Kibunja, a junior, finished third with a time of 26:29.3, qualifying him for his second straight NAIA cross country championship. Kibunja also achieved his second straight all-conference honor after finishing in the top 15 overall. Liam Ellias, a first-year, finished in 16th-place with a time of 27:24.7, the best individual placement of his career. Elias also made...

By Zack Begly • November 7, 2018 • Sports

Both the men and women’s cross country teams finished fifth in their respective races this past Friday, and 11 runners improved on their season high in the second meet of the year. The teams traveled to Upland, Indiana, to compete in the Ray Bullock Invitational, hosted by Taylor University. On the women’s side, all four runners ran at season highs. Junior Siana Emery, decreased her time from 23:07.5 to 23:05.9. Junior Jenae Stutzman, improved from 23:22.4 to 23:18.9. Junior Megan Graber, shaved seconds off her time from the Indiana Wesleyan Twilight Classic, running a time of 24:00.2 at IWU, and...

By Zack Begly • September 23, 2018 • Sports

The Goshen College Men and Women’s Cross Country teams began their seasons this past Friday at the Indiana Wesleyan University Twilight Invitational. The women failed to place in the top 10 as they only had four runners participate rather than the required five, however, the men placed fourth at the event. The women did have two runners finish in the top 100 on the evening-juniors Siana Emery and Jenae Stutzman. Emery finished first among all Goshen runners and 93 overall, with a time of 23:07:5. Stutzman finished in 98th place with a time of 23:22:4. “Personally, I’m happy,” Emery said. “My...

By Zack Begly • September 11, 2018 • Sports

Sophomores Vincent Kibunja and Chelsea Foster each posted personal-best times and top-100 finishes to cap their 2017 campaigns on Saturday, Nov. 18th at the NAIA Men’s and Women’s Cross Country National Championship at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. Kibunja’s national birth continued the program’s deeply-rooted success as the Monroe College transfer and Nakuru, Kenya native helped mark the seventh consecutive year a Maple Leaf man has reached the national stage. Kibunja did not disappoint. Kibunja ticked a second off his previous personal record set at the end of September in Louisville to finish in 26 minutes, 13 seconds, a...

By Chandler Ingle • November 30, 2017 • Sports