Nationals Preview: Heien Aiming To Close Out XC Career With Strong Performance

Malia Heien will race at 8am (Pacific) on Saturday at the 2025 NCAA DIII XC Championship Meet

SPARTANBURG, S.C.—Lewis & Clark College senior Malia Heien is set to race at Cross Country Nationals for the third time in her career on Saturday. Heien will compete as an individual at the NCAA DIII Cross Country National Championship Meet on the Roger Millikin Cross Country Course. This year's National Championship Meet is being hosted by Converse University (NCAA DII) in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

The race will start at 8 a.m. Pacific (11 a.m. Eastern).

Livestats Link: https://results.leonetiming.com/xc.html?mid=8059
Video Link: https://www.ncaa.com/event/4683
Championship Meet Page: https://govalkyries.com/sports/2025/11/12/2025-division-iii-cross-country-national-championship.aspx
Tickets: Spectators will be charged $20 per car for entry. Cash or card will be accepted. If purchasing digitally, the live screen from Event Brite must be shown at the entrance (printouts and screenshots will not be accepted).

RECAPPING THE NCAA REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MEET

Heien punched her ticket to Nationals by finishing 11^th overall at the NCAA DIII West Regional Championship Meet in Claremont, California.

The senior, who has been dealing with an injury for the second half of the season, faced a wet and muddy course for the second-consecutive meet. After struggling with her footing at the NWC Championship, Heien put together one of the best showings of her career to earn a trip back to Nationals.

She sat 35^th at the first of six checkpoints (1K), moved up to 24^th at the second mark (2.1KM) and up to 16^thafter 3.4KM. Heien would continue to pass runners and crossed the finish line in 11^th place with a time of 22:28.2. The 11^th-place finish was the second-highest finish at a Regional Championship of her career. Heien placed eighth overall at Regionals as a sophomore (2023).

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Heien will be only the fifth runner in Lewis & Clark cross country program history to race at XC Nationals three times. Lewis & Clark Hall of Famers Chris Miller (1962-64), Tamma Carleton (2005-07) and Emily Thomas (2010-12) also accomplished the feat. Teammate and now assistant coach Riley Buese (2022-24) ran at Nationals in each of the past three years, including running with Heien in 2023 and 2024.

Heien is looking for a career-best finish at a National Championship Meet. As a sophomore in 2023, she placed 125^th with a mark of 22:42.6 in Newville, Pennsylvania. Last season, Heien posted a career-best Nationals time of 22:33.4 to place 135^th in Terra Haute, Indiana. She will become the first runner in program history to race at Cross Country Nationals in South Carolina. Lewis & Clark runners have previously raced at Cross Country Nationals in Nebraska, Oklahoma, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, Minnesota, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Heien will be competing in her final collegiate cross country race on Saturday. Over the past four years, she has earned four All-Region awards and been named to the Northwest Conference All-Conference Team four times (twice on both the First and Second Team). She owns the seventh-fastest 6K time in program history (21:50.7) and the fifth-fastest 5K mark (18:04.6). She will be aiming to become just the ninth L&C women's cross country runner to finish in the top-100 at Nationals and the third woman to earn All-American honors (Amanda Phillips ('09) and Buese).

LEWIS & CLARK CROSS COUNTRY RESULTS AT NATIONALS

Lewis & Clark Women's Team Runners

Name	Year	Place (* for All-American)
Jackie Miller	1981	130th
Cathy Hanss	1982, 84	57^th, 102^nd
Susan Murray	1983, 84	91^st, 71th
Kathy Mitchelmore	1988	53^rd
Tamma Carleton	2005, 06,07	80^th, 43^rd, 79^th
Amanda Phillips	2006, 07	96^th, 19^th*
Hannah Palmer	2009	136^th
Illana Livstrom	2010, 11	77^th, Did Not Finish
Emily Thomas	2010, 11, 12	160^th, 85^th, 46^th
Emily Fagan	2012	264^th
Susan Heinselman	2012	239^th
Katherine Keith	2012	197^th
Melissa Newton-Mora	2012	73^rd
Heather Spurling	2012	156^th
Kaitlyn Thorgmorton	2012, 13	170^th, 248^th
Riley Buese	2022, 23, 24	165^th, 17^th, 17^th
Malia Heien	2023, 24	125^th, 135^th

Lewis & Clark Men's Team Runners

Name	Year	Place (* for All-American)
Chris Miller	1962, 63, 64	29^th, 10^th, 12^th
Farley Buell	1962	71^st
Jim Hill	1962	90^th
Alan Ludwig	1962	64^th
Terry Ramberg	1962	19^th*
Ted Dorman	1968	39^th
David Fix	1968	45^th
Rick Recker	1971	71^st
Kirk Reynolds	1985	159^th
Duke Ritenhouse	1985	107^th
Bob Harris	1989	70^th
Chris Mayer	1999	48^th
Neil Weare	2001	Did Not Finish
Karl Dickman	2009	185^th
Liam Monheim	2016	113^th
Blake Slattengren	2016	143^rd
Sean Richardson	2019	129^th
Frankie Reid	2021	189^th
Max Aldrich	2022	135^th
Evan Markelz	2024	138th