No. 4 Taylor Prepares for NAIA Men’s Cross Country Championship

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UPLAND, Ind. – The Taylor men's cross country is set to conclude a terrific 2025 season at the NAIA National Championships on Friday, November 21st, in Tallahassee, Florida.

The Taylor men have won the Red Banner once in program history in 2020 and this year marks the best opportunity since then to recapture it.

The Trojans have finished second in four of five competitions this season, and eighth at the Seminole Invite against a field of mostly NCAA DI schools.

The Seminole Invite was ran at the same course the Trojans will compete at for the NAIA National Championship on Friday, giving them vital experience for the biggest race of the year.

Taylor had a trio of All-Crossroads League runners in Nathan Burns, Ryan Hanak, and Luke Harber. All three have finished first for TU this season and will lead a veteran squad vying for the program's second Red Banner. Joel Mumaw and Jordan Burden will join the trio, each having finished in the top seven in every race this season for TU. The final two competing will come from the group of Alex Ortiz, Nathan Meister, Ethan Morgan, and Jared Stayte, each of whom have finished as high as sixth in a race this season.

Harber and Burns have each collected one NAIA All-American award at TU and will look to double that, while Hanak was just outside the top-40 in 45th a year ago.  

Mumaw, Burden, Stayte, and Ortiz each ran for the Trojans at last year's NAIA National Championships, with Ortiz and Mumaw garnering top-100 finishes as the team came in eighth.

The Trojans set a program record at the NAIA Great Lakes Challenge with a time of 2:04:12.5, with two top-five runners setting personal bests. Taylor finished a close second among a group of 12 schools represented in the field of 36 at the NAIA National Championships.

For those traveling with the team, admission will be free. Those following at home can access live stats and video at the links at the top of the page. 

No. 4 Taylor (82-11) will run at 9:30 am on Friday, November 21st in Tallahassee, Florida in the NAIA National Championships after the women's race.