Redhawk Cross Country Teams Host Meet Friday

The Southeast Missouri men's and women's cross-country teams start their season hosting the Redhawk Cross Country Invitational Friday. The meet will take place at the Osage Centre fields, with the men's 5k starting at 6:25 followed by the women's 5k at 6:55.
 
Meet the squads
Men's Team
 
The Men's team returns 13 runners from last season, while welcoming two new faces to the squad. The returners include graduate students Byron Sowerby, Garrett Dumke, Nick Cimmarusti, seniors Clayton Eftink, Michah Grawer and Jacob Blassingame. A pair of juniors include Myles Thornburg and Cade McAdams with the sophomores returning being Sam Rinehart, Trey Mygatt, Evan Fuller, and Tyler Anderson.  
 
The Newcomers include Zach Thoman, a freshman from O'Fallon, Illinois, and Ian Schwierjohn, a transfer from William Woods University.
 
Schwierjohn competed in the 2025 NAIA Cross Country Championships where he ran a personal best 25:39.2 in the 8k.
 
Women's Team
 
The women's team returns nine athletes from last year's squad while bringing in five new runners to the team. Returning seniors, Erika Mellor, Kayla Vogelsang, Alayna Sparr, Layla Fliege and Lexie Dockstader. Juniors include Nova Ojutkangas, Brooklyn Bender along with sophomores Mattea Pearsall and Lauren Eftink.
 
The four freshmen include Ceyda Bayur, Daphne Bishop, Kale Clements, Claire Horstman, and a transfer from Georgia State University Julia Martinez Dura.
 
Martinez Dura set personal bests of 18:51.9 in a 5k and 23:53.2 in a 6k race. She also finished 67^th in the Sun Belt Conference meet with a mark of 19:38.9 in a 5k.
 
Returning Production
 
The women's team returns the OVC Female Athlete of the Year Nova Ojutkangas who won four out of the six meets she competed in, including taking the title at the OVC Championships. She ran her season best time of 20:18.2 at the DI Midwest Regional Championships where she finished the 6k in 17^th place.
 
Kayla Vogelsang, Alayna Sparr, Brooklyn Bender, Ojutkangas and Lauren Eftink all return after competing in the Midwest regional meet.
 
The men's team returns Jacob Blassingame, Clayton Eftink, Byron Sowerby, Cade MCAdams and Evan Fuller return after also competing in the Midwest regional meet along with Garrett Dumke who finished in 16^th last year in the OVC meet along with Myles Thornburg and McAdams who finished 25^th and 26^th. Fuller also notched a top 40 finish with a mark of 20:29.0 in the 8k race.
 
"We are excited to return to competing," said coach Ryan Lane. "[This year's team] is the deepest I have had. Our top athletes are strong and I'm excited to see them race with our depth."
 
Runners to Watch
 
Lexie Dockstader and Evan Fuller were named to the OVC Runners to watch list released by the conference Wednesday morning. Each school in the OVC had coaches pick two athletes for the list. Dockstader missed last season but has a personal best of 23:21.3 in the 6k race. Fuller raced in six meets as a freshman last season and set a personal best of 25:30.3 in the 8k.
 
"Both Lexie and Evan have made huge jumps in their fitness from last school year and are primed for big seasons," said coach Lane.
 
The Redhawk Invitational
 
The Course
The race will be a 5k for both the races, taking place on the Osage Centre fields. It has a 2300m and 1609m loop, along with Start-Finish distances. There are two smaller hills in the woods on the 2300m loop, the 1609m loop is flat and fast.
 
"We are preparing to host the 2026 OVC meet so we have changed the course to meet NCAA standards and we are excited to see how it plays," said coach Ryan Lane.
 
The Competition
The Redhawk Invitational will field 11 teams competing. OVC schools competing in the meet include Eastern Illinois, Lindenwood, SIUE and UT-Martin.
 
The Schedule
 
The Redhawks will race in six meets during the regular season. After the Redhawk Invitational they will travel to the Eastern Illinois Walt Crawford Open on Friday, September 5^th. After that they will run in the Redbird Invite hosted by Illinois State on September 12^th. They will return to the Show-Me state to compete in the Gans Creek Classic Hosted by Missouri University in Columbia on September 26^th. On October 17^th the team will race at the Angel Mounds Invitational hosted by OVC foe Southern Indiana. Wrapping up the regular season on October 31^st with the OVC Championships in Charleston, Illinois hosted by Eastern Illinois University.