RAPID CITY, S.D. – Samantha Rodewald and Wyatt Bly were the first women's and men's Eagle runners across the line while Kaden Boltz recorded a personal best as Chadron State cross country competed at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships, held at Hart Ranch Camping Resort in Rapid City.
The Eagle women's roster placed 13th but scored 339 points, 47 points lower of a score than a year ago when they placed 12th at the 2025 conference meet in Colorado Springs with 386 points. Unfortunately, the Chadron State men's team only had four runners finish, shy of the minimum five needed to record a team score.
Rodewald, a senior from McCook, Nebraska, placed 68th for the Eagles, running the 6K distance in 23:32.3 and becoming the top Eagle finisher at the RMAC meet for the second time after previously doing so in 2024. Rodewald improved her performance from 2025, when she placed 80th and ran 24:02.78.
Behind Rodewald, junior Kyndall Carnahan placed 77th and ran a season-best 24:03.5. Just behind was senior Katelyn Beshara, who crossed the line 80th in a time of 24:06.8, and senior Ivy Hise, who placed 84th in 24:18.0.
True freshman Anna Paus rounded out the scoring five for CSC, just missing the top 100 with a 101st-place finish and a time of 25:00 even. Izabella Miller (25:17.9), Zelma Rudd (27:04.4), Evelyn Bly (27:34.9) and Allison Renstrom (27:50.1) also competed.
Wyatt Bly, a senior from Conifer, Colorado, continued his streak of being the top Chadron State men's finisher at every CSC competition this cross country season. Bly placed 80th, clocking a time of 26:05.9, 24 seconds off his season-best. After redshirting in 2025, Bly was well ahead of his 2024 RMAC Championships marks, when he ran 27:13.87 and crossed in 85th place.
Bly had a teammate for company, with Grand Island, Nebraska sophomore Kaden Boltz nearly step-for-step with Bly. Boltz finished 82nd and finished in 26:08.1, 54 seconds ahead of his season-best and exceeding his personal best by 28 seconds.
The other two men's runners to cross the line for CSC were Mizaiha Babers Webb (29:11.3) and sophomore Boady Hunter (31:13.2).
The Chadron State cross country teams will next get a crack at the NCAA South Central Regionals on Saturday, November 21 in Lubbock, Texas. In that race, the Eagles will battle RMAC and Lone Star Conference schools and seek to qualify either a team or individuals for the NCAA National Championships.
