Men's Cross Country Ben Miles, Coordinator of Athletics Communication | HCAC

HCAC 2025 Cross Country Notebook, Week 5

CARMEL, Ind. – The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Cross Country teams competed in week five of the 2025 season.
 
Around the League:
HCAC Cross Country Schedule
 
Athletes of the Week: 
Men’s Athlete of the Week:
Joshua Pohle (Osgood, Ind.) Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | Senior - Joshua Pohle finished 24th overall out of 407 individuals in a time of 24:59 for the 8k course at the 51st Paul Short Run in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He led the Rose-Hulman men's team to a 12th place finish in a field of 45 NCAA Division 3 men's programs. The field featured 11 nationally ranked teams and over 41 ranked in the top 10 of their region.

Women’s Athlete of the Week:
Ayla Cashdollar (North Manchester, Ind.) Manchester University | First Year - Ayla finished 33rd at the Louisville Classic out of 416 with a time of 22:47 for the 6k.  She was the top HCAC finisher except for her teammate.

Notable Performances:
Men's:
  • Desire Itwitaho (Louisville, Ky.) Berea College | First Year - Desire Itwitaho opened his racing career with a respectable time of 29:29 in the Live in Lou Classic 8K Silver race. Itwitaho was the number 3 runner for the Mountaineers on the day.
  • Connor Watson (Greenwood, Ind.) Hanover College | Senior - Conner ran a season best time finishing 15th overall and first among HCAC runners in the Silver race at the Louisville Classic on Saturday.
  • Gavin Byerly (Huntington, Ind.) Manchester University | Senior - Gavin Byerly finished 7th out of 417 runner at the Louisville classic, guiding his team to a 12th place finish out of 41. His time was 25:07.
Women's:
  • Ashley Bailey (Stanton, Ky.) Berea College | Junior - Ashley Bailey led the Mountaineers in the Live in Lou Classic Silver Race. Bailey ran a personal best of 23:34 in the women's 5K. The new personal best is a 50-second improvement for the junior.
  • Sara Smith (Mansfield, Ohio) Bluffton University | Sophomore - Sara had a huge race a the OWU Invite on Friday night. She finished 20th overall with a time of 23:47, which was about a minute PR and puts her 8th all-time in school history for the 6k.
  • Kaylee Kinser (Charlestown, Ind.) Hanover College | Sophomore - Kaylee ran a 28 second PR and moved into 18th place on the Top 20 all time 6k list at Hanover with her 23:30 performance at the Louisville Classic Blue race on Saturday.