WAYNE, NE – The University of Mary's Caleb Hansen was voted by the league coaches as the winner of the 2025 NSIC Men's Cross Country Outstanding Senior of the Year Award.  A native of  Dickinson, North Dakota, Hansen holds a 3.52 grade point average while majoring in English. Hansen was presented the award following the NSIC Cross Country Championships, which took place on Friday, October 24 in Wayne, Nebraska; hosted by Wayne State College. 
 
The "NSIC Outstanding Senior of the Year Award" is presented to a NSIC men's cross country student-athlete who participates at their institution for four years and is academically superior while making a positive contribution to their team and the University. The NSIC Outstanding Senior of the Year award was initiated in 2020-21 to honor an outstanding senior that exemplifies the attributes of the model NSIC student-athlete.
 
Hansen is a two-time All-NSIC First Team performer, finishing eighth in 2023 and fifth last season.  He also earned NCAA All-Region honors in 2023 when he finished in 23rd place. He ran a personal best 8K time at last year's NSIC Championships with a time of 24:10.5. Hansen earned his first collegiate cross country win this season when he traversed the 8K course in a time of 25:19.6 to win the Marauder's Open by nearly 40 seconds.  

Academically, Hansen has been a member of the NSIC All-Academic Team as well as being a member of the University of Mary's Dean's List. 

In the community, Hansen has been a part of the Ministry on the Margins and the Fort Abraham Lincoln Park cleanup.

"Caleb has moved his way up the ladder every year in the conference championship starting off his freshman year not making it to eighth two years ago and up to fifth last season. He is one of the top seniors in the NSIC this year. His resilience each year has put him in a spot to compete at the top and will be exciting to see how he closes out his senior season," said Head Coach Chris Lessard. 

About the NSIC
The NSIC is a 16-team, 18-sport, NCAA Division II conference with institutions located in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The NSIC is a model Division II conference that uses high-level athletics competition to develop champions in the classroom and community while empowering student-athletes to be impactful and positive leaders. Formed in 1992 by the merger of the Northern Intercollegiate Conference (men's league) and the Northern Sun Conference (women's league), the NSIC has flourished over the past three decades, maturing into a 16-team union of Upper Midwest colleges and universities. The NSIC has won 27 team national championships and crowned 122 individual national champions. For additional information, visit NorthernSun.org.

About NCAA Division II
The NCAA, the national governing body for college athletics, is a volunteer association of more than 1,000 colleges and universities that classify their athletics programs in one of three membership divisions. The 300+ institutions in NCAA Division II support a balanced approach in which student-athletes have the opportunity to earn scholarships based on their athletic ability, pursue their desired academic degree, and participate in all the campus and surrounding community have to offer. Division II student-athletes annually graduate at rates higher than their student body peers, and they have access to the best championships-participant ratio among the NCAA's three divisions. Division II gives student-athletes the unique opportunity to compete in the classroom, on the field, in their career, for their causes, and on their terms. For additional information, visit NCAA.org.
 
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