Harper holds off rivals DuPage, Joliet for tenth NJCAA Championship

FORT DODGE, IOWA - If you looked hard enough through the collected and falling snow, you would have noticed the 2025 NJCAA Division III Men's Cross Country Championship was a three-horse race made up solely of teams from Region 4. In the end, Harper College outran defending national champion College of DuPage and third place Joliet Junior College to claim the program's tenth championship since 2011. The Hawks finished with 55 points, while the Chaparrals had 68 points and the Wolves posted 87 points. The three teams also combined to place eight runners on the NJCAA All-American Team. (Recaps: NJCAA | Harper)

Harper's run to the title was led by freshman Sebastian Welc, who placed fouth with a time of 27:17.3. Teammate Ryan Golden was fifth and Ethan Waddell ended up 14th. Jerome Graessle missed All-American accolades by four seconds with a 16th-place finish. DuPage saw two runners in the top 15 as Jack Schultz was ninth and Zach Bacci finished 11th. As for JJC, the Wolves saw Region 4 Athlete of the Year Nathan Ciarlette cross the finish line second overall with a impressive 26:57.9 time. He was joined on the All-American list by Gavin Carlson in tenth.

2025 NJCAA Division II & III Men's & Women's Cross Country Championships Final Results

In the NJCAA Division II Men's Cross Country Championship race, Moraine Valley Community College registered 885 points to place 34th overall. Sauk Valley Community College's Charles Link, who won the Region 4 Championship, was the top individual finisher with a time of 28:51.9 to place 82nd.

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