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Vincennes University

Trailblazers Open Season at Stegemoller Classic

Trailblazers Open Season at Stegemoller Classic
Results
August 29, 2025

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The Vincennes University Men's and Women's Cross Country teams officially opened their 2025 season Friday night at the Stegemoller Classic, hosted by the University of Southern Indiana at the USI Cross Country Course. The unique twilight meet marked the first official competition of the year for all programs.

Women's Team Impresses with Strong Opener

Freshman Ikram Dorai stole the spotlight in her collegiate debut, finishing third overall in the women's 4K with a time of 13:52.9, just seconds behind USI's top runners. "Ikram did outstanding. She was able to stay with their top two until the very end of the race and got third by just a couple seconds … really positive stuff from her," Head Coach Tyler Steigenga said.

Sophomore Alexis Hale carried her strong improvement from last season into this fall, placing 24th in 15:40.5. She was closely followed by freshman Madison Seene, who impressed in her first cross country race in two years, clocking 15:50.5 for 27th. Sophomore Allie Black (30th, 17:10.3) and freshman Rorri Bottum (31st, 17:22.8) rounded out the top five, while freshman Allie Knepp (34th, 18:04.9) also contributed.

The VU women placed third as a team (76 points), trailing only Southern Indiana and Evansville. Steigenga noted the progress of his squad: "Alexis did awesome. Madison looked great in her first race back, and Allie looked like her old self again after a tough spring. We were missing Sarah this meet, who will be a key part of our lineup, so I'm excited about where we're headed.

Men's Team Learns from Early Test

On the men's side, sophomore Anis Abdaoui led the way with a sixth-place finish in 18:25.5 over the 6K course. "Anis followed our race plan to a tee, not getting caught up in the fast pace up front, and he finished really strong. His training is still pretty early, and he'll only get better as the season progresses," Steigenga said.

Sophomore Lane Connaway (45th, 20:10.2) crossed as the team's No. 2 runner, followed by freshmen Seth Weaver (56th, 21:19.5), Henry Dybsetter (57th, 21:26.2), and sophomore Malachi Black (58th, 22:00.9). Freshman Evan Dailey (59th, 22:36.5) and Brody Wilson (61st, 22:42.4) rounded out the lineup.

The Trailblazer men finished third as a team (75 points) behind Southern Indiana and Evansville. Steigenga said the opener provided valuable lessons: "The men went out too fast and paid the price with some big positive splits. It's something they'll learn from. Sometimes experiencing that is more valuable than me telling them beforehand. I'm confident we'll correct it before the next race."

Looking Ahead

The Trailblazers return to action in three weeks at the John McNichols Invitational in Terre Haute, where the women will step up to the 6K distance and the men to the 8K. "This was a good fitness check, and now we get three solid weeks of training before Terre Haute," Steigenga said. "It'll be a bigger field, more competition, and a better chance to see where we stack up."

Join the Journey

As always, fans can keep up with the Vincennes University Cross Country squad all year long through a number of ways: