2023 Heart Cross Country Championships

The Heart of America Athletic Conference will host the 2023 Heart Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships this Saturday, November 4 at the Seminole Valley Cross Country Course in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The event is hosted by Mount Mercy University.

The cross country course is located at 5925 Seminole Valley Trail NE, Cedar Rapids, IA – 524111

13 Heart teams will compete in each event.

This will mark the first-time ever that the Heart Women's Cross Country Championship will be a 6K in length.

The women's 6K race will begin at 11 am, while the men's 8K race will begin at 11:45 am. An awards ceremony will follow.

Individual awards will also be handed out after the races. Runners who finish in the Top 10 of each race will be named to the Heart First Team All-Conference. Finishers 11-15, will earn a spot on the Honorable Mention All-Conference teams. 

Grand View is the two-time defending Heart Men's Cross Country Champions. The Vikings have also earned the last two individual titles as well. In 2022, Sam Mickelson of Grand View won the race, while in 2021 the Vikings' Trevor Albert won.

On the women's side, Benedictine has won three-straight Heart Women's Cross Country championships.

Individually, Morgan Lawson of Grand View won the last two Heart Women's Cross Country races in 2021 and 2022.

LIVE RESULTS: CLICK HERE

Official Championships Page: CLICK HERE

Fans can view photos from the event, by clicking here.

About the venue:

Seminole Valley Park became the home of Mount Mercy cross country in 2015 and hosted the 2018 and 2020 NAIA Cross Country National Championships, as well as the 2021 Heart of America Cross Country Championships.

The course, designed and built by Mount Mercy University and the Cedar Rapids Parks and Recreation Department, provides runners with natural park-like settings, mowed fields and wetland areas. It has multiple loops and a layout that serves 4K, 5K, 6K, and 8K races for high school and collegiate-level events.

Mount Mercy, Infrastructure Technology Solutions, F&M Bank, and Cedar Rapids Tourism hosted approximately 600 runners and thousands of fans when the NAIA national championships came to Cedar Rapids in November of 2018 and April of 2021.