The Hillsdale College men's and women's cross country teams had great individual success in 2025, with multiple runners earning All-Conference and All-Region honors and sophomore Allison Kuzma finishing as an All-American at the 2026 NCAA DII Championships.

As Hillsdale turns the page to 2026, the focus now is on turning some of those individual highlights into team strength, and contend once again for G-MAC team crowns. They'll do so under new leadership as well, as Joe Lynn returns to Hillsdale to take over the men's and women's cross country programs as head coach.

Under Lynn's direction, the Chargers will aim for the success he had during his first stint at Hillsdale, which saw the Charger women post back-to-back top three finishes in the nation in 2014 and 2015, and the men qualify for the NCAA DII Championship race as well. 

Lynn will have some strong building blocks to work with, especially on the women's side with the return of Kuzma, who won the 2025 G-MAC women's cross country crown, finished runner-up in the Midwest Regional race and earned an All-American honor with a 13th place finish in the NCAA DII Championships in November. That was just the beginning of an epic campaign for the rising junior, who went on to win NCAA DII national titles in track and field in the indoor 5K and outdoor 10K. Kuzma enters the 2026 cross season on a short list of national title favorites at the NCAA DII level.

She's got a strong teammate in senior Eleanor Clark, who earned first team All-G-MAC honors and just missed All-Region honors in cross country last year, then earned four G-MAC runner-up honors in indoor and outdoor track in the 3K, 5K and 10K.  Fellow senior Savannah Fraley is a two-time All-G-MAC honoree in cross country as well who returns healthy from an injury-plagued 2025 and could be a difference-maker for the Chargers, and Hillsdale also can look to a strong sophomore class that includes Caroline Roberts and Mavis Banks, both of whom scored for Hillsdale at the 2025 Midwest Regional, as well as talented steeplechaser Taylor Brodeur, who will compete in cross country for the first time this fall. Seniors Megan Roberts and Emilee Santoso, sophomore Taylor Klimp and two incoming freshmen will also look to secure spots in the top seven.

On the men's side, Hillsdale will have a tough task to replace All-G-MAC and All-Region runner Gabriel Phillips, who graduated, but the Chargers do return five of their top seven placers from the 2025 G-MAC Championship. Leading the way is senior Caleb Youngstedt, a veteran with multiple All-G-MAC honors and a strong competitor. He's joined by sophomores John Richardson and Jefferson Regitz, who were consistent scorers for the Chargers as freshmen in 2025 and potential breakout athletes, as well as reliable juniors in Zach Self and Will Winsor.

Hillsdale has several experienced returners who will be looking to break into the top seven, including sophomore Henry Thuet and juniors Thomas Holm and Daniel Johnson, as well as five incoming freshmen.

Both the Charger men and women finished 11th in the Midwest Regional last year, and the women placed fourth as a team at the G-MAC Championships while the men took fifth. Defending champions Cedarville on the women's side and Walsh on the men's side will be favorites to win again in 2026, but heavy graduation losses among both the men and women should shake up the standings and could provide a path to contention for the Chargers if things break their way at the championship meet. 

Tiffin is the host of this year's G-MAC Championship meet, which will take place on November 7, while the Midwest Regional will once again be held at the Wayne E. Danehl National Cross Country Course in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Nov. 21. Teams are competing to make the NCAA DII Championship races on Dec. 4, at Rim Rock in Lawrence, Kansas.

The Chargers will kick off the 2026 campaign at the MSU Spartan Invitational, held on Sept. 11 at Forest Akers Golf Club in East Lansing, Michigan. You can find the full schedule here.