TMU Cross Country aiming for more history at NAIA XC Championships

Both TMU Cross Country teams are coming off historical performances at the Golden State Athletic Conference Championships. The Mustangs hope to make more history on Friday at the NAIA Championships in Vancouver, Washington.

“I think our women have the potential to have the highest national finish of any team I have ever coached on the women’s side,” Master’s Head Coach Zach Schroeder said. “The same holds true on our men’s team and if we run up to our potential, I believe our men can contend for the national title. There are many great teams in the NAIA and the competition will be fierce, but this team is prepared.”

The Master’s men’s and women’s teams are both ranked seventh in the latest NAIA Coaches’ Polls. The men won a GSAC-record 12th consecutive conference title while the women won their second-straight conference crown for the first time in program history.

“This season has truly been one for the record books,” Schroeder said. “I believe Friday will be the culmination of what has been a remarkable journey. I often tell my team that champions are not made at the championship, but in the days, weeks, months and sometimes years leading up to the championship race.

“Friday’s championship is simply the crowning moment that reveals what took place in the days preceding that moment.”

Team captains Wesley Methum and Arianna Ghiorso are coming off NAIA All-American performances at last season’s national championships, which were held in April. Brint Laubach earned NAIA All-American honors in 2019.

Davis Boggess hopes to receive All-American recognition for the first time after winning his second-consecutive GSAC Men’s Cross Country individual championship, as will Daniel Rush, who placed third at the GSAC Championships.

Hannah Fredericks became the first Mustang freshman to claim the GSAC Women’s Cross Country individual title. She has had a stellar freshman season, which includes breaking the program’s all-time cross-country record in her first collegiate season.

“Hannah Fredricks is ready to chase the best in the nation and run the fastest she has all year,” Schroeder said. “The rest of our girls have put together remarkable work and I believe we are ready to see some new PR’s out of a confident group.”

The men’s team ran a program-record time of 2:03.33 at the Bronco Invitational, which was the fastest team time in the NAIA this season.

“To really perform well, an athlete must be in a high-trust environment throughout the entire process,” Schroeder said. “Trust is the currency of success, and trusting well requires deep humility. This team has walked humbly and has displayed trust all season long — humble trust in their coach and ultimately trust in God’s sovereignty over every outcome.

“The team is prepared for the best racing of their lives, and we simply need to maintain competitive confidence, a sense of urgency and humility. I have seen this group put these traits on display all season long, which gives me great optimism for Friday’s race.”

The teams hope to perform well on Friday, not solely for competitive purposes but to utilize the podium as a platform to point people toward Christ.

“The greatest value in performing well is that it can be leveraged to make people aware that we do what we do as slaves of Christ,” Schroeder said. “This is the power in our institution’s name, ‘The Master’s University’.

“Every aspect of our athletic experience we want to use to point anyone that follows us towards our Lord and Savior. If we point the world towards Christ through sport on Friday, we will be winners.”

As the Mustangs enter their final race of the season, Schroeder said the teams continue to try to use cross country as a way to win people for Christ, which has been their theme all season long.

“Coaching here at TMU is about so much more than athletics,” Schroeder said. “This is just the medium we use to mentor young people and watch them develop the skills to be influential for God’s Kingdom. Anything of value that has been accomplished has been God’s work in us as we depend on Him to serve our Lord.”

Regardless of Friday’s outcome, TMU Cross Country has had a remarkably successful season, both in competition and in their worshiping of the Lord.

“True success for this team is not measured by the world’s fading treasures but by how well we lay our lives down as an act of worship,” Schroeder said. “Our team knows this and has lived it out all season long, making this a remarkably successful year.”

The men’s 8K race is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. with the women’s 5K set to start at 11:30 a.m. Follow along with the races via LIVE STREAM or LIVE RESULTS.