Joplin, MO – For the second year in a row, the Crown College women’s cross country team stands at the top of the podium, winning the 2025 NCCAA DII Women’s Cross Country National Championship on Friday, November 14. The Polars won the championship with 15 points, finishing ahead of Bob Jones University, who finished second with 45 points. Faith Baptist Bible College finished third with 104 points.

For the third year in a row, Crown’s Ella Dufault won the women’s individual championship, finishing the race in 19:35.5. She was the only runner to finish the 5,000-meter race in under 20 minutes, winning the title by almost 37 seconds. Ella Dufault also earned the Dr. Ray Bullock Award last night at the annual awards banquet.

The Polars had six total runners earn All-American honors. Ruth Brueckner finished fourth with a time of 20:55.5, while her teammate Mia Arroyo finished fifth at 21:03.7. Callie Dufault finished seventh with a time of 21:21.6, and Olivia Stanley finished eighth at 21:43.9. Autumn Seiwert rounded out the top-10 for Crown, finishing tenth with a time of 21:57.4.

Crown’s win continues the trend of repeats in Division II women’s cross country champions, as Bob Jones won the women’s title for four straight years from 2020-2023, Moody Bible Institute won the championship for seven straight seasons from 2013-2019, and North Central University won eight straight invitational championships from 2005-2012.

With the national championship, Grant DeWitt from Crown earns NCCAA Coach of the Year honors for the second year in a row.
 
Highlights:

• Carlie Blevins from Faith Baptist Bible finished second with a time of 20:12.2. It’s her second straight year earning All-American accolades after finishing third in 2024.
• Macy Schadt from Boyce College finished third with a time of 20:38.8. Schadt is the first All-American for Boyce women’s cross country since Danielle Ruhr who also finished third in 2023.
• Schadt’s teammate Lucy Bollweg finished sixth with a time of 21:04.6, as the Bulldogs are the only other team to record multiple All-Americans this season in DII women’s cross country.
• Kassidy Kleinheksel from Moody Bible Institute finished ninth with a time of 21:44.6 to round out this year’s All-Americans. She is the first All-American for the Archers in women’s cross country since Summer Pierson earned the nod in 2019.

 
Final results from the NCCAA Division II Women’s 5,000-meter can be found here. A full list of award winners can be found here.

About the NCCAA
Established in 1968, the National Christian College Athletic Association uses intercollegiate athletics to further the Great Commission and is committed to equipping student-athletes and coaches to make a positive impact for Christ. The NCCAA currently holds 23 national championship events, along with one national invitational for 88 member schools across 28 states and two Canadian provinces. For more information on the NCCAA, visit our website, thenccaa.org, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter/X, and Instagram at @thenccaa.