2025 NCAA XC preview: Canadians to watch
Jadyn Keeler and Rachel Forsyth lead a talented group of Canadian women headed to Saturday's NCAA Cross-Country Championships in Missouri
Bonnie Ryan (University of North Dakota athletics)
The 2025 Division I NCAA cross-country championships are set for Saturday at Gans Creek course in Columbia, Mo., hosted by the University of Missouri. The Canadian contingent is small but mighty, headlined by six returning women who punched their ticket to nationals with top finishes at their respective regional 6K championships last weekend.
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Jadyn Keeler – University of North Dakota
At the Midwest Regionals on the Greiner Family course in Stillwater, Okla., Jadyn Keeler of Barrie, Ont., delivered a historic run for the University of North Dakota (UND), placing fourth with a time of 19:53.7–the best individual regional finish in UND program history. Her result earned her the top individual qualifying spot for nationals.
Keeler’s 2025 campaign has been one to remember. She rewrote her personal bests from the mile to the 10,000m, then made her Team Canada debut at the Junior Pan Am Games, winning 10,000m gold in a championship-record 34:16.61 and later grabbing silver in the 5,000m. In cross-country, she opened her season undefeated through three races, earned NCAA athlete of the week honours and shattered the Summit League 6K record by nearly a minute, clocking 19:08.
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Rachel Forsyth – Michigan State University
London. Ont.’s second-year endurance prodigy Rachel Forsyth was the top Canadian at the Great Lakes Regionals (which took place at Angel Mounds State Historic Site in Evansville, Ind.), running 19:45.14 for third overall. The performance secured her the top qualifying spot for individuals from non-qualifying teams for the NCAA Championships.
At the 2024 NCAA XC Championships, Forsyth was the top North American rookie in the field, placing 16th overall. Some other major highlights of Forsyth’s early career include a silver medal from the 2024 World U20 Championships and, at just 18, setting a North American and Canadian U20 record of 8:53.50.
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Florence Caron – Penn State University
La Malbaie, Que.’s Florence Caron was the top Canadian at the Mid-Atlantic Regionals at the Goodman Campus cross-country course in Bethlehem, Penn., taking fourth overall in 19:35 and leading the Penn State University women to qualify for the NCAA Championships.
Caron, a fourth-year athlete, took 19th at last year’s collegiate nationals and won the Canadian 10,000m title earlier this year.
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Siona Chisholm – University of Notre Dame
Siona Chisholm of Antigonish, N.S., also secured a top-five performance at the Great Lakes Regionals, finishing two spots behind Forsyth with a time of 20:01. Chisholm came in as the third University of Notre Dame (UND) runner, helping to secure the Fighting Irish women the championship title with a mere 22 points (Wisconsin was second with 95 points). UND will compete for the national title at Saturday’s NCAA Championships.
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Kaiya Robertson – Boise State University
At the NCAA West Regionals at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento, Calif., Kaiya Robertson took eighth, running 19:44, leading both the Canadian contingent and the Boise State University (BSU) Bronco women. The performance helped secure BSU the third-ranked spot to qualify for nationals.
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Erin Vringer – University of Utah
Erin Vringer of Saint John, N.B., also took eighth in her district, Mountain Regionals, claiming the top Canadian spot with a time of 20:23. Her team of Utah Utes will move on to compete at the NCAA Championships on Saturday.
See here to follow results from the 2025 NCAA XC Nationals, which begin with the women’s race on Saturday at 10:20 a.m. ET.
