Saturday, November 22
Columbia, MO
8:20 am MT
Air Force Academy
at
NCAA Championships
Photo by: Ricky Bassman
Air Force Men Earn Top-20 Finish at NCAA Championships
11/22/2025 3:50:00 PM | Cross Country
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Backed by a top 50 finish from senior Jayden Nats, the Air Force men's cross country team finished 20th at the NCAA Championships this morning (Nov. 22) in Columbia, Missouri. The men, who entered the meet ranked 27th in the coaches poll, were joined at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course by two members of women's team, who both placed within the top half of their race.
Nats completed the 10K course around Gans Creek in a time of 29:13.0 to finish 50th in the 261-runner event and account for the fastest time at an NCAA Championship meet in program history. Classmate Zach Ayers capped his cross country career with a 29:44.6 finish (118th), while sophomore Junior Allen was the third Academy runner to cross the finish line after clocking a time of 29:55.0 to finish 146th. Senior Tanner Lindahl placed 155th following a 29:59.8 finish, while sophomore Matthew Edwards rounded out the Falcons' scoring lineup with a 180th-place time of 30:18.2.
As a team, the Falcons – who were joined on the starting line by junior Patrick Lawson (31:37.3, 243rd) and sophomore Saketh Rudraraju (32:20.7, 252nd) – amassed 529 points to finish 20th out of 32 teams in the field.
The women were also represented on the Gans Creek Cross Country Course, as senior India Jones and junior Ella Johnson both placed within the top half of the women's race. Jones posted a 6K time of 20:04.3 to finish 121st in the field of 262, while Johnson was close on her heels with a time of 20:05.1 finish (125th). With those times, the pair clocked the two fastest times by an Air Force runner at the national championship meet.
DIRECTOR OF TRACK & FIELD AND CROSS COUNTRY RYAN COLE
"We were solid today, just like we've been all year. This group has been very consistent. India and Ella worked together again very well. They moved through the field and finished with strong momentum, but they also experienced the competitive depth of the NCAA field.
On the men's side, we were really anchored by our seniors. Jayden had an All-American level run. Zach and Tanner were also big for us securing a Top 20 team finish.
I'm proud of our group. Every season has its challenges, but we've had a good fall. Both genders competed at the top of our conference, we qualified a record number of people for the NCAA XC Championships with nine competitors, we finished in the top 20 on the men's side for the seventh time in the last nine years, we've had women qualify now nine of the last 10 years, plus we had the top service academy male and female finishers in the country.
I'm also proud of how we build our program and how our cadets use the athletic experience as they build for their future. Now onto track and field season."
Nats completed the 10K course around Gans Creek in a time of 29:13.0 to finish 50th in the 261-runner event and account for the fastest time at an NCAA Championship meet in program history. Classmate Zach Ayers capped his cross country career with a 29:44.6 finish (118th), while sophomore Junior Allen was the third Academy runner to cross the finish line after clocking a time of 29:55.0 to finish 146th. Senior Tanner Lindahl placed 155th following a 29:59.8 finish, while sophomore Matthew Edwards rounded out the Falcons' scoring lineup with a 180th-place time of 30:18.2.
As a team, the Falcons – who were joined on the starting line by junior Patrick Lawson (31:37.3, 243rd) and sophomore Saketh Rudraraju (32:20.7, 252nd) – amassed 529 points to finish 20th out of 32 teams in the field.
The women were also represented on the Gans Creek Cross Country Course, as senior India Jones and junior Ella Johnson both placed within the top half of the women's race. Jones posted a 6K time of 20:04.3 to finish 121st in the field of 262, while Johnson was close on her heels with a time of 20:05.1 finish (125th). With those times, the pair clocked the two fastest times by an Air Force runner at the national championship meet.
DIRECTOR OF TRACK & FIELD AND CROSS COUNTRY RYAN COLE
"We were solid today, just like we've been all year. This group has been very consistent. India and Ella worked together again very well. They moved through the field and finished with strong momentum, but they also experienced the competitive depth of the NCAA field.
On the men's side, we were really anchored by our seniors. Jayden had an All-American level run. Zach and Tanner were also big for us securing a Top 20 team finish.
I'm proud of our group. Every season has its challenges, but we've had a good fall. Both genders competed at the top of our conference, we qualified a record number of people for the NCAA XC Championships with nine competitors, we finished in the top 20 on the men's side for the seventh time in the last nine years, we've had women qualify now nine of the last 10 years, plus we had the top service academy male and female finishers in the country.
I'm also proud of how we build our program and how our cadets use the athletic experience as they build for their future. Now onto track and field season."
Players Mentioned
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
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/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
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