INFO | NCAA Division II XC Championship results (HTML)
 
Kenosha, Wis.----Paced by its first four All-Americans, the Wingate University women's cross country team finished a program-best third in the 2025 NCAA Division II national championship meet Saturday. The University of Wisconsin-Parkside hosted the event at the Wayne E. Dannehl National XC Course in Kenosha.
 
Wingate's previous-best finish was a fifth-place showing in 2021. The '25 South Atlantic Conference and Southeast Region champions finished eighth in the last two NCAA Division II national championship meets.
 
Bulldog freshmen All-Americans Abigail and Kiara Bester led the way on a 45-degree Saturday, finishing 18th and 19th, respectively. The twins posted almost-identical 6K times of 20:47.6 and 20:47.9 as both student-athletes achieved personal-best intercollegiate marks.
 
Meet Information

Top five teams: Grand Valley State (65 points), Colorado Mines (69), Wingate (131), Adams State (168) and Western Colorado (206).
Individual finishers: 262 student-athletes with 34 schools recording a team score
Location: The Wayne E. Dannehl National XC Course in Kenosha, Wisconsin
 
Inside the 6K Race Results
 
- Wingate's top five runners each posted a personal-best mark Saturday
- Junior Evie Brooks took 25th place with her 6K time of 20:52.7 (PR)
- Freshman Karlijn Mesman was 36th with her 6K time of 21:02.6 (PR)
- Sophomore Firdaouss Hriche rounded out Wingate's counting times
- Hriche claimed 46th place, thanks to her personal-best 6K time of 21:11.6
 
Coaches' notes from #WUXC assistant coach Jacob Willis
 
"The women got out very well in the gradual uphill. At the first 1K, the ladies were placed very well with numerous Bulldogs in the top 15. At the 2K mark, Firdaouss Hriche led the pack with three other Bulldogs in the top 20."
 
"At the 4K, the women were in a solid third place overall as a team. The Bester twins started in 15th and 16th at the bottom of the final hill and the rest of the Bulldogs followed shortly afterwards. The Wingate women dominated the last hill to the finish to keep their third place overall team standing."
 
Notables

- Adams State junior Tristian Spence won the 6K race with her time of 20:11.0
- Grand Valley State had five runners in the top 20 to take the team title
- Colorado Mines had three top-10 finishers, but GVSU won by four points
 
Up Next
 
The Wingate cross country teams will switch their focus to indoor track and field in December.
The Bulldogs open the 2025-26 indoor campaign on Saturday, December 6 with two meets: The Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener at Boston University and the JDL College Kick-Off in Winston-Salem. The Bulldogs will also send student-athletes to the JDL Early Bird Invitational on Sunday, December 7.