Men's Cross Country

2026 HCAC Cross Country Notebook, Week 4

CARMEL, Ind. – The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Cross Country teams competed in week four of the 2026 season.
 
Around the League:
HCAC Cross Country Schedule
 
Athletes of the Week: 
Men’s Athlete of the Week:
Austin Johnson (Fort Wayne, Ind.) Manchester University | Junior - Austin Johnson finished third out of 228 finishers in the Blue Race at Louisville. His time of 25:14 was a lifetime PR. 

Women’s Athlete of the Week:
Jocelyn Onstot (Cary, Ill.) Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | Senior - Jocelyn Onstot recorded a 15th place finish at the Pre-Nationals with a career-best time of 21:53.4 in the 6K event.

Notable Performances:
Men's:
  • Johnnie Behrends (Normal, Ill.) Anderson University | Sophomore - Johnnie Behrends ran a 22-second lifetime best on Lavern Gibson with a 27:12, earning 58th place.
  • Desire Itwitaho (Louisville, Ky.) Berea College | Sophomore - Desire Itwitaho led Berea with a personal-best 8K time of 27:11.7, earning a top-30 individual finish at the Louisville Cross Country Classic. His time ranks as the fastest 8K by an HCAC sophomore last week and is a nearly a minute PR from his previous best of 28:04.
  • Ray Lewis (Mansfield, Ohio) Bluffton University | Freshman - Ray Lewis shaved a minute off of his time from two weeks ago at the Louisville Classic in the Silver Race. He finished with a time of 27:40 and finished 10th among HCAC competitors and the second freshman among the HCAC competitors.
  • Colin Kistler (Columbus, Ind.) Hanover College | Junior - Colin Kistler ran a PR time of 26:48 to finish 17th in the Silver race at the Louisville Classic on Saturday. He was the second-fastest HCAC runner.
  • Grayson Rorick (Hillsdale, Mich.) Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | Freshman - Grayson Rorick recorded a personal best time of 26:25.1 at the Pre-Nationals to finish in 191st place in the 8K event.
Women's:
  • Jade Witt (Mishawaka, Ind.) Anderson University | Sophomore - Jade Witt ran a 48-second 6K lifetime best at Lavern Gibson with a 28:05.
  • Gwenizah Barcinas (Merizo, Guam) Berea College | Freshman - Gweniza Barcinas continued her impressive freshman season at the Louisville Cross Country Classic and was the top Berea finisher with a time of 21:31.4 in the 5K. The time is a near 30-second improvement on her previous personal best.
  • Sara Smith (Mansfield, Ohio) Bluffton University | Junior - Sara Smith finished 18th overall at the Louisville Classic shaving a minute off of her time from two weeks ago with a 23:18. She finished fifth in the region in the race and third among HCAC competitors.
  • Cleo Saltz (Bedford Hills, N.Y.) Earlham College | Junior - Cleo Saltz won the Daniel Mullen Memorial hosted by Muskingum, running 25:52 on a tough college course. She beat second place by almost a minute after running with her for the first 2K.
  • Kaylee Kinser (Charlestown, Ind.) Hanover College | Junior - Kaylee Kinser returned to her first starting line in 330 days following an injury with a solid 23:55 tempo effort to finish 35th at the Louisville Classic on Saturday. She was the fifth fastest HCAC competitor.
  • Chesnee Miller (Akron, Ind.) Manchester University | Junior - Chesnee Miller won the Blue Race at Louisville this weekend. She won the race by 14 seconds in a time of 22:18. 
2026 Athlete of the Week Reports:
Week 1 (Week ending Sept. 6)
Week 2 (Week ending Sept. 13)
Week 3 (Week ending Sept. 20)
Week 4 (Week ending Oct. 4)