NORTH MANCHESTER, Indiana - The Mount St. Joseph cross country programs wrapped up their 2026 season's with a special showing at the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Championships. On the women's side the Lions finished fifth behind an honorable mention All-HCAC performance from freshman
Claire Higgins. On the men's side the team finished sixth, with
Henry Bowman running a PR in the event. The respective finishes were the top team finishes in program history in the event.
The women's race was 6000 meters and as stated it was Higgins leading the way for the Mount. She led a team of three other freshman and a sophomore proving the future is bright for this Lions squad. She finished the race in 15th place overall with a time of 23:55.50. Fellow freshman
Lana Connelly finished in 24th place (24:38.00),
Ashley Bornemann in 32nd (25:29.80) and
Kaley Knapp 59th (29:24.10). The Lions lone sophomore in the race
Sicilia Eshman finished in 28th with a 25:14.20.
In the men's race the runners competed in an 8k event, and it was junior
Alex Taft leading the way for the Mount. Taft finished 46th with a time of 27:46.20. Like the women the Lions are led by a largely underclassmen group. Freshman
Bradyn Hatton finished 62nd (28:37.21), sophomore
Henry Bowman ran a PR of 28.58.60, he was followed by two more freshman in
Jonathan Blank (29:06.40) and
Collin Wilson (30:04.3). A pair of sophomores rounded out the squad in
Logan Wright (30:39.40) and Malcom Hudson (31:32.90).
Many of these Lions will look to carry their momentum over into the track and field season before next year's cross country season.
