COLUMBIA, Mo. – Drake University men's and women's cross country traveled to Missouri to compete in a loaded field at the 2025 Gans Creek Classic. The Bulldogs picked up some high-level experience against some of the top squads in the nation with a few standout performers.
The Gans Creek Classic included three sections of both men's and women's divisions: Black, Gold, and Open. The Bulldogs entrants all ran in the Black heats.
The Drake women's group earned eighth place as a team and had the second-highest finish among attending Missouri Valley Conference teams (Illinois State, 6th).
Breanna Burak had another astonishing effort with a 14th place time of 21:02.0.
Anastasia Kirillov had another top 20 finish in 17th with a time of 21:03.9.
Freshman Austria Osina put forth another solid outing with a mark of 21:52.9. The remaining Bulldog women finished as follows:
Kayci Martensen – 22:45.7
Anika Mohrhauser – 22:56.2
Ella Brown – 23:34.6
Amilia Condon – 23:55.2
Hannah Kilday – 24:22.3
"This was our first 6K of the season, and the women stepped up and raced tough," Drake head coach Sam Read said. "They put themselves in the mix early and held their ground against a competitive field and in hot conditions. Breanna and Anastasia gave us a strong one-two punch up front, and the pack behind them kept battling, which made the difference in placing us in the top 10 as a team. This should give our team a big momentum boost. It showed that the work we've been putting in is paying off, and if we keep building from here, we'll be in a great position heading into championship season."
As a group, the Drake men finished 18th out of 26 eligible teams.
Brenden Heitzig, a Missouri transfer who returned to his previous stomping grounds, earned the highest finish for the Bulldog men with a time of 24:31.4.
Aidan Palmer, Drake's only other top 90 finisher, crossed the line in 24:44.1.
The remaining Bulldog men finished with these times:
John Moellers – 24:53.0
Daghyn True – 25:23.0
Aziz Jdai – 25:31.5
Xander Kwa – 25:47.7
Bowen Martin – 25:55.4
Carter Beasley – 26:16.6
"Today was about getting that first 8K of the season under our belts," Read continued. "It's a big adjustment from the early races, and I thought our guys accepted the challenge. Brenden set the pace for us up front, but I really liked how Aidan and John executed their races. Ultimately, this was a fitness check, and it showed where we're at and where we need to go. We'll keep building from here. With this experience, we'll be sharper and better prepared when it counts later in the season."
Drake cross country will be back in action on Saturday, Oct. 4 in Waverly, Iowa at the Dan Huston Invite.
