NAMPA, Idaho - Northwest Nazarene's men's and women's cross country team are looking to start their season's strong at Gonzaga's Clash of the Inland Northwest tomorrow at The Course in Spokane, Washington. 

The NNU men are starting their year with the preseason ranking of second in the GNAC and seventh in the West Region. They will compete against some schools of all levels this week but will not see a GNAC or West Region team. This race will give the Nighthawks an good preview into what we can expect from the team this season. 

There are 9 teams entered to compete in the race with around 100 entries in the women's race and about 150 in the men's race as of Thursday. 

While the mens team lost some key leaders on this team they have gained experience and have a few newcomers looking to mix it up for the Nighthawks. One runner to watch is transfer Luke Stockett from Utah State as he is coming off of with a win in the outdoor 1500m at the 2025 GNAC Outdoor championships last May. Nolan Oyler from Spokane Falls is also a new addition on the mens side and will provide experience as he starts his junior season as a Nighthawk. 

The Nighthawks will also have a number of returners from last season. Timothy Bradshaw, Micah Chi, Christian Gump, and Ian Stockett are the returning Nighthawks on the men's side from the GNAC Cross Country Championships in Billings Montana. The rest of the men's lineup will include Noah Eichenbusch, Izayiah Palmer, Grant Petty, Owen Smith, Emmitt Warren, and Emmett Stouffer.

The men will race an 8k at The Course tomorrow which will be a big jump in distance for the freshmen who are coming from the 5k high school distance. 

On the women's side, the Nighthawks also return a number of runners from last years conference championship. McKenna Lechner, Paige Trautman, Jenna Davis, Ella Bartlett, Madison Ingram, Hazel Kunkel, and Zoey Stauffer. NNU will also have a promising group of freshmen looking to make their mark in their first time wearing a NNU singlet. 

As freshmen last year, Hazel Kunkel and Zoey Stauffer both had great seasons and with a year of collegiate experience will both be ones to watch in this first race.

Hailey Jackson will join the women's team from Bushnell with experience racing the 6k distance. Cameron Moore from Utah State will also run her first race as a Nighthawk. Moore is coming off a very successful track season and has moved into the top 5 all-time list at NNU in the indoor and outdoor 5k. 

The rest of the women's lineup will include Rebecca Darwood, Alyssa Blum, Jordan Gram, Abigail Duncan, June Nemrow, Amelia Jones, and Emma Troxler. 

The women will race at 8:30a.m. , followed by the men's race at 9:15 a.m.