SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- Sophomore Abigail Stucker finished fifth overall to lead a program-record five John Brown University women's cross country runners to All-Sooner Athletic Conference honors Saturday (Nov. 7), helping the Golden Eagles place second at the SAC Championships at Pollard's Field. The runner-up finish matched JBU's best team showing at the conference meet since 2010, joining second-place performances in 2019 and 2024.
Stucker crossed in 22:21, the second-fastest SAC Championship 6K in program history and the fifth-fastest 6K overall in the John Brown record book. The finish also secured her second consecutive All-SAC honor after placing seventh in 2025.
A quartet of freshmen joined Stucker in the top 15 to complete the Golden Eagles' scoring five. Allie Robertson finished sixth in 23:09, Layla Maline took ninth in 23:24, Emma Hunt crossed 11th in 23:34 and Vivian Sindelar placed 15th with a collegiate-best 24:16. All five performances rank among the 10 fastest SAC Championship 6K times in program history, while their five top-15 finishes surpassed JBU's previous single-meet high of four All-SAC selections in 2020 and 2024.
The No. 21 Golden Eagles scored 46 points and finished with a team time of 1:56:46, the fastest SAC Championship 6K in program history and the second-fastest 6K team performance overall. Oklahoma City captured its 11th conference championship in 12 years with 28 points, while College of the Ozarks finished third with 79.
Sophomore Kenzi Readnour of Oklahoma City won the individual championship in 21:04, leading a sweep of the first three places by the Stars. Keira Readnour finished second in 21:26 and Isabella Gutierrez followed in third at 22:05 before College of the Ozarks' Keena Goze took fourth and Stucker crossed fifth.
Five additional Golden Eagles established collegiate 6K bests outside the scoring five. Sophomore Edith Bell finished 17th in 24:27, junior Tori Calder placed 23rd in 24:56, junior Adelyn Janssen took 25th in 24:59, sophomore Brianna Vargas crossed 35th in 26:14 and freshman Piper Ames finished 38th in 26:27. In all, six JBU runners recorded collegiate bests at the championship meet.
The record-setting haul extended a stretch of nine consecutive SAC Championships with at least one John Brown runner earning All-Conference honors, a run that began in 2018. That span has included consecutive individual titles from Allika Pearson in 2020 and 2021, followed by championships from Hope Ahnfeldt in 2022 and Cera Eckenroth in 2023.
The NAIA national-championship qualifiers will be announced Tuesday (Nov. 10) at 4 p.m. The 2026 NAIA National Championships are scheduled for Friday (Nov. 20) at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site in Vancouver, Wash.
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