OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU Cross Country teams will be back in-action for its second meet of the 2025 campaign on Thursday morning as the Evangels are readying to run in the Mustang Derby hosted by Midwestern State at the Lake Wichita Park. The event will open with the women's 4000-meter (4k) at 8 a.m. before the men will race in the 6000-meter (6k) at 8:30 am.
 
WOMEN'S SEASON REPORT

• Last Meet: RSU Distance After Dark – Sept. 4, 2025 – Tulsa, Okla. (Mohawk Sports Complex)
• Team Result: 271 / 10^th of 10
• Top Finisher: Ashlyn Vasquez – 70^th – 20:57.30
• Race Notes:
  • With a brand-new team heading into its first meet of the year, the Evangels competed against some strong NCAA D-II and NAIA competition at the RSU Distance After Dark hosted at the Mohawk Sports Complex in Tulsa, Okla. on Sept. 4. Overall, MACU as a team scored 271 points to place in 10^th behind Central Oklahoma (238).
  • Junior Ashlyn Vasquez led the charge for MACU, turning in a 5k time of 20:57.30 to place 60^th in the 107-runner field. The mark went down as only the sixth sub 21-minute time in program history, supplanting Egidija Busitie's previous No. 6 spot by nearly four seconds.
  • In her first ever collegiate race, freshman Jessie Foster-Anderson posted MACU's second-best finish with a time of 22:11.02 while junior Kaylee Campbell and freshman Cora Eyler occupied the next two finishes for MACU with times of 23:00.36 and 23:07.46.
  • The Evangels will be running in the Mustang Derby hosted by Midwestern State for the second-straight year. In last year's event on Sept. 12, the Evangels ended up finishing 10^th out of the 11 teams competing while Gracie Sanders led the way with a fourth-place time of 14:27.0 to set the fastest 4k mark in program history.

MEN'S SEASON REPORT

• Last Meet: RSU Distance After Dark – Sept. 2, 2025 – Tulsa, Okla. (Mohawk Sports Complex)
• Team Result: 63 / 2^nd of 10
• Top Finisher: Lucky Maila – 5^th – 20:40.41
• Race Notes:
  • The MACU Men's Cross Country team put together its best ever team result at the RSU Distance After Dark last Thursday. In the 4-Mile meet, the Evangels as a squad scored 63 points, only 10 fewer than NCAA D-II Oklahoma Christian and 13 points in-front of NCAA D-II Rogers State to place second overall
  • Earning Sooner Athletic Conference and NCCAA Runner of the Week honors, junior Lucky Maila paced three Evangels to top 10 finishes with his fifth-place time setting the fastest mark in MACU's first ever 4-Mile race with a fifth-place time of 20:40.41.
  • Sophomore Jaden Rodriguez finished immediately behind Maila with a sixth-place mark of 20:47.89 while junior Mohamed Zairi notched an eighth-place time of 20:53.80.
  • Aidan Collins also scored well for MACU in the race by placing 13^th after crossing the line in 21:05.78 while freshman Xadrian Hernandez was MACU's last scoring mark with 31 points on his 32^nd place time of 21:38.51.
  • In this week's meet, the Evangels will primarily be running its freshmen with Hernandez highlighting the freshman class in Thursday's 6k race. Jonathan Avila and Canaan Motley in their first ever collegiate race at the RSU Distance After Dark, as Avila placed 54^th with a time of 22:09.45 and Motley finished right behind in 55^th with a 22:10.58.
  • After missing last week's race, sophomore Connor Gerth will also be looking to make his 2025 debut. Last season, Gerth was one of MACU's top runners, posting the program's second-best 5k time (17:00.9) and fifth-fastest 6k time (21:23.6) in the all-time record book.