University of Nebraska - Kearney Athletics

Joshua Beam

Men's Cross Country 11/22/2025 12:37:00 PM

Both Loper Squads 26th at the NCAA Championships; Abdalla Earns AA Honors

Men's Cross Country 11/22/2025 12:37:00 PM

Both Loper Squads 26th at the NCAA Championships; Abdalla Earns AA Honors

Kearney, Neb. – The Nebraska Kearney cross country teams both finished 26th at the 2025 NCAA Division II Championships with redshirt senior Nick Abdalla earning All-American honors Saturday morning in Kenosha, Wisc.

Thirty-four teams on each side, plus individual qualifiers, ran the 6k (women) and 10k (men) Wayne E. Dannehl National Cross Country Course at the University of Wisconsin Parkside. Temperatures were ideal for running; minimal wind, overcast and temperatures in the 40's.

The 16th-ranked Loper women started the day by scoring 612 points in their second-ever NCAA appearance. The team was 22nd at both the 3k and 4k junctions for their highest place of the meet. Central City senior Ella Buhlke (76th/21:34.5) and McCool Junction sophomore Kassidy Stuckey (78th/21:36.4) paced the squad with Kearney freshman Abigail Burger running right with them. However, she suffered an injury running downhill with about a mile to go and couldn't finish. With her in the lineup, UNK likely finishes several spots higher. Nick Abdalla

The Blue & Gold still bested three fellow Top 25 teams with top-ranked Grand Valley State (65) slipping past third-ranked Colorado School of Mines (69) for the national title. No. 11 Winona State came in 11th to be the top Central Region team with Adams State's Tristian Spence the individual national champ (20:11.0).

Abdalla (Omaha South H.S.) is UNK's 11 men's D2 All-American and the first since 2022. He ran the course in 30:43.0 and moved his way up the charts with each passing checkpoint. The redshirt senior was 110th at 1k, 55th by 3.2k, 52nd at 5k and 40th at 9.3k; Ty Elliott of Alaska-Anchorage had the same final time but came in 38th. Kidus Begashaw of Adams was the national champ (29:38.8) with the 40th and 41st place finishers both clocking in at 30:43.1.

Top-ranked Wingate, S.C. (62) won its second title in three years with Adams (71) a close second. The Central region was led by 11th-place Northwest Missouri.

The women's other scorers were Omaha redshirt junior Noelle Abels (177th/23.32.2), Kansas junior Charis Robinson (180th/22:33.0) and York redshirt junior Brynn Hirschfeld (188th/22:44.5). Lincoln sophomore Carter Hohlen (146th/32:11.5) was the next men's finisher behind Abdalla with Kansas freshman Drew Elliott (154th/32:15.1) close behind. The final scorers were Grand Island junior Juan Garcia (175th/32:27.0) and Lincoln junior Nathan Johnson (216th/33:00.3).

The indoor track and field season begins in early December.

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Players Mentioned

Ella Buhlke: Senior

Brynn Hirschfeld: Redshirt Junior

Noelle Abels: Redshirt Junior

Charis Robinson: Junior

Kassidy Stuckey: Sophomore

Abigail Burger: Freshman

Nick Abdalla: Redshirt Senior

Juan Garcia: Junior

Carter Hohlen: Sophomore

Nathan Johnson: Junior

Players Mentioned

Ella Buhlke
: Senior

Brynn Hirschfeld
: Redshirt Junior

Noelle Abels
: Redshirt Junior

Charis Robinson
: Junior

Kassidy Stuckey
: Sophomore

Abigail Burger
: Freshman

Nick Abdalla
: Redshirt Senior

Juan Garcia
: Junior

Carter Hohlen
: Sophomore

Nathan Johnson
: Junior