Fort Hays State Cross Country
at MIAA Championships 
Saturday, November 7, 2026
St. Joseph, Mo. • Griffon Cross Country Course
Men's 8K • 10 a.m.
Women's 6K • 11 a.m.

The Fort Hays State men's and women's cross country teams will open postseason competition Saturday (Nov. 7) at the MIAA Cross Country Championships in St. Joseph, Mo. Northwest Missouri State will serve as the host for the meet, which will be held at the Griffon Cross Country Course. The men's 8K race will begin at 10 a.m., followed by the women's 6K at 11 a.m.
 
Admission to the races is free, however fans will need to pay for parking on the MWSU campus. Parking costs $10 per vehicle when purchased in advance here and will cost $15 on the morning of the race. Live results for the MIAA Championships will be available online here.
 
The Tigers will return to the same course where they competed at the Griffon Open on Oct. 24. The women's team was led by Emma Weiner and Jacee Deges, who finished 32nd and 33rd, respectively, in the 5K with times of 19:07.3 and 19:07.4. Elsie Rickstrew and Brenna Murphy followed in 55th and 56th, while six additional Tigers finished within just over one second of each other.
 
The women's team enters the championship meet following a second-place finish at the FHSU Tiger Open on Oct. 10. Fort Hays State totaled 51 points, led by Weiner's fourth-place finish in 18:16.3. Janae Fugitt placed 11th, while Margaret Browning finished 16th to help the Tigers secure the runner-up team finish.
 
On the men's side, Farrin Mangelson led Fort Hays State at the Griffon Open, placing 12th in the 8K with a time of 25:05.4. Hayden Nemechek finished 24th, followed by Taran Castro in 31st. The Tigers previously placed sixth at the FHSU Tiger Open with 126 points, led by Mangelson's 12th-place finish in 25:05.4.
 
Fort Hays State will compete against the rest of the MIAA in its first championship meet of the postseason. The Tigers will look to build on their performances throughout the regular season as they take on the conference's top competition.
 
The last time St. Joseph hosted the MIAA Cross Country Championships was in 2024. The FHSU women placed third that season, led by Emily Diercks McCullough, who captured her first of two individual conference championships. The men's team finished eighth.
 
Fort Hays State Women's Championship Lineup: Keziah Bachman, Margaret Browning, Esther Clark-Pavlovich, Jacee Deges, Janae Fugitt, Brenna Murphy, Madelynn Nichols, Elsie Rickstrew, Madelyn Russell and Emma Weiner.
 
Fort Hays State Men's Championship Lineup: Taran Castro, Broxton Gall, Cole Krug, Farrin Mangelson, Hayden Nemechek, Ty Raulston, Austin Ritsema, Quade Smith, Luke Wessel and Emery Wolfe.