KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association has announced new cross country athletes of the week for the 2026 men’s and women’s cross country seasons. Two MIAA student-athletes had first-place finishes at the NCAA Division II Pre-Nationals Meet to earn the latest MIAA Cross Country Athletes of the Week honors. Dylan Sprecker claimed Pittsburg State’s first Men’s Athlete of the Week honor of the season, while Newman’s Katie Hughes was named the Women’s Athlete of the Week for the second time this season.
 
 MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:  Dylan Sprecker, Pittsburg State
Dylan Sprecker earned top-medalist honors at the NCAA Division II Pre-Nationals Meet on Sunday (Oct. 11) at Rim Rock Farm, host site for the 2026 NCAA Division II National Championships in November. The redshirt senior from Gypsum, Kan., won the eight-kilometer race in 23:53.9, finishing 4.1 seconds ahead of the runner-up and besting the field of 100. Sprecker was one of three Gorillas to place in the top 10 as No. 19-ranked Pitt State captured the team title in the field of 15 teams. Sprecker was also named this week’s NCAA Division II Men’s National Athlete of the Week by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for his victory in Lawrence.

 WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:  Katie Hughes, Newman
Katie Hughes claimed the individual title at the NCAA Division II Pre-National Invitational at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kansas, this past Sunday (Oct. 11). The graduate student pulled away from the field of 187 runners to win the women’s six-kilometer race in 20:43.9. She finished 13.9 seconds ahead of the event’s runner-up, Pitt State’s Paige Mullen (20:57.8). The victory in Lawerence was Hughes’s second-straight first place finish after earning the individual medalists honors a few weeks prior at the Augustana Invitational on Sept. 25. Hughes won the event in 20:16.9, setting a new Newman 6k school-record. She was also honored by the USTFCCCA this week, earning the Division II Women’s National Athlete of the Week award for the second time this season. This is also her second MIAA Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week honor, previously earning the title in Week One (Sept. 9).
 
OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
Women’s Cross Country – Paige Mullen, Pittsburg State
Paige Mullen placed second overall in the NCAA Division II Pre-Nationals Meet at Rim Rock Farm Sunday (Oct. 11). The senior from Shawnee, Kan., finished the 6k race in 20:57.8, leading the No. 10-ranked Gorillas to a fifth-place team finish.
 
Women’s Cross Country – Emma Weiner, Fort Hays State
Emma Weiner was the top Division II finisher at the 2026 FHSU Tiger Open last Saturday (Oct. 10), completing the 5k race in a personal-best 18:16.3. She placed fourth overall in a field of 110 finishers, helping Fort Hays State to a second-place finish as a team.
 
Men’s Cross Country – Sebastiaan Horselenberg, Washburn
Since the last MIAA Cross Country Athlete of the Week award was awarded (Sept. 22), Sebastiaan Horselenberg led the Ichabods with a fifth-place finish, covering the 8K course in 24:25.4 as Washburn won the team title at the Augustana Invitational on Sept. 25. In their most recent meet at the NCAA Division II Pre Nationals at Rim Rock Farms last Saturday (Oct. 11), the junior finished second in the Ichabod lineup, placing 14th overall in 24:46.1 as the Washburn men finished third overall as a team.
 
ALSO NOMINATED:
MEN – Kelton Sorrell [Missouri Southern], Carter Hohlen [Nebraska Kearney]
WOMEN – Kassidy Stuckey [Nebraska Kearney], Olivia Bakker [Northwest Missouri], Nelly Puente [Washburn], Viola Johanson [Missouri Southern]
 

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WEEK ONE (Sept. 9):
MEN’S – Jaden Deaton, Missouri Southern
WOMEN’S – Katie Hughes, Newman
 
WEEK TWO (Sept. 22):
MEN’S – Pau Valderrama, Missouri Western
WOMEN’S – Ruth Chemutai, Missouri Southern 
 
WEEK THREE (Oct. 13):
MEN’S – Dylan Sprecker, Pittsburg State
WOMEN’S – Katie Hughes, Newman