NAIA Qualifier Releases: Men | Women
SEWARD, Neb. – Concordia University, Nebraska Cross Country will be represented by two individuals at the 2026 NAIA Cross Country National Championships. As made official by the NAIA National Office on Tuesday (Nov. 10), freshman Hope Beck and junior Vaughn Hendrickson have been named 2026 individual national qualifiers. Beck and Hendrickson qualified based on their place finishes at last week’s GPAC Championships in Sioux Center, Iowa.
At the 2026 conference meet, Head Coach Matt Beisel’s squads came away with team finishes of third on the men’s side and sixth on the women’s side. The men entered this week with an outside chance at receiving a team at-large bid to the national meet. However, the Bulldogs went unselected. The GPAC was awarded a total of five team qualifiers (three for women and two for men).
A native of Fort Wayne, Ind., Hendrickson placed fourth at the 2026 GPAC Championships, finishing the 8K race in a time of 24:54.6. Two of his men’s teammates also garnered all-conference medals: seniors Aidan Limback (11th) and Trey Robertson (14th). Both Hendrickson and Robertson are three-time all-conference award winners. Meanwhile, Beck will continue a sterling freshman season. She placed 15th at the conference championships with a 6K time of 22:35.7.
As a program, Concordia has collected in an individual All-America medal in each of the past three years, thanks to Kylahn Freiberg in 2023, Hendrickson in 2024 and Keeli Green in 2025. During Beisel’s tenure, the women’s program has qualified for nationals three times as a team (2019, 2022 and 2023). The 2019 GPAC championship team placed 12th in the NAIA.
2026 GPAC All-Conference Award Winners
Hope Beck (Elk River, Minn.), Freshman
• 2026 GPAC Championships Placement: 15th (6K – 22:35.7)
Vaughn Hendrickson (Fort Wayne, Ind.), Junior
• 2026 GPAC Championships Placement: 4th (8K – 24:54.6)
• 3x GPAC All-Conference / 3x NAIA National Qualifier
• 2024 NAIA All-American
• 2024 GPAC Champion
Aidan Limback (West Des Moines, Iowa), Senior
• 2026 GPAC Championships Placement: 11th (8K – 25:19.4)
• 2x GPAC All-Conference
Trey Robertson (Wallace, Neb.), Senior
• 2026 GPAC Championships Placement: 14th (8K – 25:28.9)
• 3x GPAC All-Conference / 2024 NAIA National Qualifier
Concordia Champions of Character Representatives
Mason Hodges (Raymore, Mo.), Senior
Josie Smith (Sumner, Neb.), Senior
For additional information on the 2026 NAIA Cross Country National Championships, check out the official NAIA website: men’s cross country and women’s cross country. The national meet will be staged in Vancouver, Wash., on Friday, Nov. 20.