For Immediate Release
Tuesday, September 29, 2026
NSIC Media Relations

NSIC Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Week
Gideon Hammah (Sr., North Apowa, Ghana / Supunso D/A Basic School) - University of Mary
- Won the Augustana Invitational with a time of 24:09.8
- Broke the UMary men’s cross country 8K school record
- Improved personal best time by 34 seconds 
- Helped UMary to a 8th place team finish in the 19 team field
- Named NSIC Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Week for the second time this season (9/15/26)

Other Top Performers
Bryant Keller (Augustana)
- Recorded a third-place finish at the Augustana Invitational
- Tallied a time of 24:18.5
- Helped the Vikings to a third-place finish
Chase Hoechst (MSU Moorhead)
- MSUM’s top performer at the Augustana Invitational
- Placed 12th overall, fourth among NSIC runners
- Ran an 8K time of 24:45.3
NSIC Men's Cross Country Athletes of the Week
9/9/26
Luis Pfister - Minnesota State
9/15/26
Gideon Hammah - UMary
9/22/26
Luis Pfister - Minnesota State (2)
9/29/26
Gideon Hammah - UMary (2)

About the NSIC
The NSIC is a 16-team, 18-sport, NCAA Division II conference with institutions located in Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The NSIC is a model Division II conference that uses high-level athletics competition to develop champions in the classroom and community while empowering student-athletes to be impactful and positive leaders. Formed in 1992 by the merger of the Northern Intercollegiate Conference (men’s league) and the Northern Sun Conference (women’s league), the NSIC has flourished over the past quarter century, maturing into a union of Upper Midwest colleges and universities. The NSIC has won 27 team national championships and crowned 128 individual national champions. For additional information, visit NorthernSun.org.

About NCAA Division II
The NCAA, the national governing body for college athletics, is a volunteer association of more than 1,000 colleges and universities that classify their athletics programs in one of three membership divisions. The 300+ institutions in NCAA Division II support a balanced approach in which student-athletes can earn scholarships based on their athletic ability, pursue their desired academic degree, and participate in all the campus and surrounding community have to offer. Division II student-athletes annually graduate at rates higher than their student body peers, and they have access to the best championships-participant ratio among the NCAA’s three divisions. Division II gives student-athletes the unique opportunity to compete in the classroom, on the field, in their career, for their causes, and on their terms. For additional information, visit NCAA.org.