CROSS COUNTRY

he Huntington cross country teams opened their 2025 campaign Friday evening with the Twilight Invitational hosted on the campus of Indiana Wesleyan.

On the women’s side, the Foresters, who are receiving votes in the NAIA preseason poll, placed 11th out of 18 teams in the 6K race. Graduate student Shaylynn Reyes set the tone for HU by finishing 25th overall in a time of 23:38.00, a new PR by over two minutes.

On the men’s side, Huntington placed 13th in the 20-team field, led by sophomore Jaden Kropp, who turned in a 26:00.10 performance to claim 56th overall.

THE ESSENTIALS
Event: Twilight Invitational
Date: September 5, 2025
Location: Wildcat XC Course, Marion, Ind.
Women’s Distance: 6K | # of runners: 203
Men’s Distance: 8K | # of runners: 304

LOOKING FORWARD
Huntington will return to competition on September 26 at the Siena Heights Invitational.

*HU WOMEN’S SUMMARY*
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
25th – Shaylynn Reyes – 23:38.00
31st – Molly Harding – 23:52.50
78th – Olivia Howell – 24:58.30
143rd – Lily Spaulding – 26:35.71
175th – Vada Valastek – 28:18.10
194th – Lily Hegenberger – 30:56.30

SCORING BREAKDOWN
24+29+64+97+106 (116) = 320

TOP-5 SUMMARY
Total Time: 2:07:22.60
Average Time: 25:28.52
Spread: 4:40.11

TEAM STANDINGS
Taylor claimed the women’s title with 38 points followed by IWU (80), Marian (95), Grace (140), Shawnee State (160), Rio Grande (196), Mount Vernon (207), IU East (216), Saint Francis (271), IU Kokomo (305), Huntington (320), Georgetown (324), Indianapolis (336), Cumberland (TN) (369), IU Northwest (421), Saint Xavier (422), SW Michigan (516) and Olivet (538).

OTHER NOTABLES
– HU is receiving votes in this year’s preseason NAIA Women’s Cross Country Coaches’ Top 25 Rating.
– After graduating in 2024, Shaylynn Reyes returns to HU this fall to pursue her MBA while using up her remaining eligibility in cross country. In tonight’s comeback race, she shaved more than two minutes off her personal best.
– The 2023 season marked the first season the women’s race was switched from a 5K to a 6K.

*HU MEN’S SUMMARY*
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
56th – Jaden Kropp – 26:00.10
65th – Carter VanderMeer – 26:06.70
75th – Kaden Vogel – 26:15.40
134th – Benjamin Roberts – 27:09.40
249th – Tyler Loucks – 29:19.50
271st  – Jaden Binkley – 30:09.20
292nd – Jayden Cornett – 32:10.50
296th – Gabe King – 32:51.40

SCORING BREAKDOWN
51+58+65+99+126 (131)(140) = 399

TOP-5 SUMMARY
Total Time: 2:14:51.10
Average Time: 26:58.22
Spread: 3:19.41

TEAM STANDINGS
IWU (42) topped the 20-team field followed by Taylor (81), Marian (110), IU East (157), Goshen (185), Cornerstone (186), Shawnee State (196), Rio Grande (196), Indiana Tech (222), Indianapolis (225), Mount Vernon (275), Saint Francis (296), Huntington (399), IU Kokomo (401), Grace (402), Saint Xavier (454), Cumberland (TN) (478), SW Michigan (536), Olivet (559) and Georgetown (574).