CROSS COUNTRY

The accolades keep coming for Huntington University senior Abbey Gentz. One day after being named the Crossroads League Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Week, Gentz has been tabbed the USTFCCCA NAIA Women’s National Athlete of the Week – the first such honor awarded in the 2026 cross country season. The award is selected and presented weekly by the USTFCCCA Communications Staff.

The national recognition is the exclamation point on a weekend that served as Gentz’s first cross country race since 2024. After missing the entirety of last season, the senior wasted no time reminding the NAIA what she’s capable of. At Indiana Wesleyan, she navigated a 5k field of 184 runners to claim the individual title with a time of 18:25 – pulling away from the competition by an extraordinary 40 seconds.

The margin of victory becomes even more impressive when considering the caliber of the field. Gentz outpaced runners from five nationally ranked programs, including No. 1 Taylor, No. 9 Indiana Wesleyan, No. 11 Cumberlands (Ky.), No. 15 Grace, and No. 24 Rio Grande.

Up Next
Gentz and the Foresters head to Grand Rapids (Mich.) for the Knight Invite on the campus of Calvin College on Friday, September 19.