Moorhead, Minn. – The Crown College Polars opened their 2026 cross country season Friday night at the Dragon Twilight Invitational hosted by Minnesota State Moorhead, with both the women's and men's teams racing in the stacked field. 

The Polars' women, led by senior Ella Dufault, crossed the finish line in 19:46.7 to claim 17th place overall.  Brooklyn Hart was right on her heels, finishing 19th in 19:48.2 — a gap of just 1.5 seconds between the top two Crown finishers. Junior Lindsey Morrison rounded out the scoring core with a 28th-place finish in 20:47.1, followed by Ruth Brueckner in 33rd at 21:06.2. Sophomore Callie Dufault rounded out the top five in 43rd at 21:29.5. Juniors Gracelyn Foster (24:02.1) and Olivia Stanley (24:13.1), senior Abbie Hough (24:16.7), and freshman Karina Meed (27:51.7) also competed for the Polars. 

On the men's side, freshman Cody Rummel turned in an impressive debut, pacing the Polars with a 63rd-place finish in 20:04.4. Sophomore David Tuttle followed in 76th at 20:25.9, providing a solid one-two punch at the front of the pack. Freshmen Abel Krause (22:40.8, 111th), Ty Stout (22:54.2, 113th), and Isaiah Norton (23:06.2, 114th) ran together demonstrating encouraging depth for a young squad. Sophomores Justice Bailey (24:40.5, 123rd) and Evan Gibson (26:15.8, 128th) rounded out the Crown men. 

The Crown College Polars will return to action Sept. 19 at the St. Olaf Invitational.