Friday, September 4
Abilene, Texas
W: 6:45 p.m. | M: 7:30 p.m.
Abilene Christian
vs
Naimadu Classic
Photo by: Luke White
ACU Women Take 1st, Men Finish 2nd at 2026 Naimadu Classic
9/5/2026 11:40:00 AM | Cross Country
The ACU women's cross country team opened the 2026 season with a solid effort by winning the Naimadu Classic with a near-perfect score of 18 points, easily besting 2nd place Western Texas College who finished with 47 points. The ACU men finished 2nd with 49 points in a tight race with 1st place Western Texas College with 44 points and just ahead of Ranger College's 50 points.
The Wildcat women placed all five scoring finishers in the top 10, as Saylor Stevenson won the race in a time of 15:29. Following Stevenson were 2nd place Anna Vyn (15:48), 3rd place Sidney Windham (15:56), and 4th place Hannah Kasper (15:57). With the top 5 scoring, the fifth finisher for ACU was Madelyn McFadden, in 8th with a time of 17:11; followed by Alyssa Quinones in 10th place with a time of 17:27 and Hanna Zwiebel in 16rd place with a time of 19:19.
The men had three finishers in the top five – 2nd place finisher Mark Barajas (19:10), 4th place finisher Vincent Luffey (19:20), and 5th place Matthew Engle (19:21). Austin Roberts was ACU's 4th finisher in 14th place with a time of 21:27 and Evan Martin rounded out the scoring in 21st place with a time of 22:23.
Coach Wayne Angel: "I am so proud of the way our teams competed. Our women came out and took care of business and our men fought their way to a strong 2nd place finish. For a season opener, it was a good rust-buster and a good first look at what these teams can potentially become.
"But we are not going to get excited about one meet. We have a lot of work to do, and that's what excites me. This meet showed me that we have the talent and potential, we just have to put in the work, stay hungry, and trust the process. If we can do that, we will accomplish our goals."
UP NEXT
ACU travels to Arlington for the Gerald Richey UTA Invitational on Friday, Sept. 11.
The Wildcat women placed all five scoring finishers in the top 10, as Saylor Stevenson won the race in a time of 15:29. Following Stevenson were 2nd place Anna Vyn (15:48), 3rd place Sidney Windham (15:56), and 4th place Hannah Kasper (15:57). With the top 5 scoring, the fifth finisher for ACU was Madelyn McFadden, in 8th with a time of 17:11; followed by Alyssa Quinones in 10th place with a time of 17:27 and Hanna Zwiebel in 16rd place with a time of 19:19.
The men had three finishers in the top five – 2nd place finisher Mark Barajas (19:10), 4th place finisher Vincent Luffey (19:20), and 5th place Matthew Engle (19:21). Austin Roberts was ACU's 4th finisher in 14th place with a time of 21:27 and Evan Martin rounded out the scoring in 21st place with a time of 22:23.
Coach Wayne Angel: "I am so proud of the way our teams competed. Our women came out and took care of business and our men fought their way to a strong 2nd place finish. For a season opener, it was a good rust-buster and a good first look at what these teams can potentially become.
"But we are not going to get excited about one meet. We have a lot of work to do, and that's what excites me. This meet showed me that we have the talent and potential, we just have to put in the work, stay hungry, and trust the process. If we can do that, we will accomplish our goals."
UP NEXT
ACU travels to Arlington for the Gerald Richey UTA Invitational on Friday, Sept. 11.
Players Mentioned
/ Cross Country
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/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
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