STORM LAKE, Iowa (Sept 2, 2026) The Buena Vista women’s and men’s cross country teams might both be smaller in roster size, but both programs continue to grow stronger in overall quality of competition. Second-year head coach Emily Hoesing is excited for the mix of returning experience coupled with the talented incoming class for both teams.

“Our overall team cohesion is strong and will aid in pulling team members through a challenging workout or race,” says Hoesing. “Our newcomers are going to make a big impact and fit well in our lineup.”

On the women’s side, specifically, the team has finished eighth at the A-R-C Championships in each of the last two seasons. Senior Megan Bakke (Fulda, Minn./Murray County Central) will help lead the way as she looks to close out her career on a strong note. Already the program’s all-time 6k record holder, Bakke aims to find her way up both the conference and regional placings. She will be joined by fellow senior Takara Conley (Paullina, Iowa/South O’Brien) and junior Lillian Dahlhauser(Newell, Iowa/Storm Lake), who are both coming off strong individual seasons in 2025.

“Megan’s overall strength is her even pacing and speed to finish out a kick,” adds Hoesing. “Lillian has tremendous resilience and the ability to remain focused and engaged throughout a race or workout while Takara took a big step forward as a junior last season and improved her 6k time by more than one minute.”

As a team, the Beavers came in seventh at last year’s A-R-C Championships with their lowest team score in six seasons.

The Beaver men will be paced by senior Patrick Heffernan (Dunlap, Iowa). A transfer to campus prior to last season, Heffernan was consistently the team’s top finisher and would finish the season ranked No. 2 in program history on the 8k list.

“Pat is a consistent team leader in both races and workouts,” adds Hoesing. “His mental toughness and overall ability to adapt to different race scenarios bode well for him. Other top returners for the team will be seniors Corbin Webster (Provo, Utah/Maple Mountain) and Aiden Egertson (Terril, Iowa/GTRA). Both individuals are very coachable according to Hoesing and will bring positivity to each race and workout.

BVU has come in eighth in each of the last two seasons at the A-R-C Championships. Hoesing feels the make up of the overall schedule has positioned both teams to be running their best by the end of October.

“It will challenge us throughout the course of the season from running a shorter distance in the opening race of the year to running on some tough courses in the middle,” she says. “We have the opportunity to compete in an Interregional Meet at Augustana College (IL) which will serve as a nice preview for when we return their in mid-November, and we will have several opportunities to face many of the conference teams to prepare for the conference championships.”

This year’s A-R-C Championships will take place in Storm Lake and be hosted by BVU.