NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Goshen men's cross country and track and field program was one of 22 NAIA men's teams recognized by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) in their Program of the Year Award rankings, announced last week. The award honors schools that have achieved the most success in each academic year (spanning the cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field seasons) based on the institution's finish at the NAIA Championships.

In order to be eligible for the award, teams must qualify for each of the NAIA Championships. Scoring is based on the team's finish at each NAIA Championship in cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field (i.e. 1st = 1 point, 2nd = 2 points … 31st = 31 points) with the lowest total score for all three championships combined determining the award winner.

In cross country, the Maple Leafs had their second-highest finish among the seven years they have qualified for nationals when they competed at the NAIA National Championship in Tallahassee, Florida. Duncan Kogei placed 15th of 323 runners at nationals, and Mathew Keitany came in 39th, earning them both All-American honors. This was the first time that Goshen had ever had two cross country All-Americans on the same team in the same year, and there were only eight other NAIA schools that could say the same this season.

In the winter, Drew Hogan became an All-American yet again, finishing fourth in the NAIA with a 4:09.13 time in the mile at the NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships. The Leafs added two more All-Americans in the outdoor season. Duncan Kogei came in sixth place in the 10,000 meters at nationals with a personal best time of 30:35.61, also beating the school record time of 30:38.39 held by Ryan Smith from 2017. Lastly, Mathew Keitany placed seventh in the steeplechase in a time of 9:15.14. This was his seventh All-American medal and his second in the steeplechase.

Goshen was one of five schools from the Crossroads League to make the Program of the Year list, joining Marian, Indiana Wesleyan, Taylor and Spring Arbor. Cumberlands led the way with a total of six points - finishing third in cross country, second in indoor track and field and first in outdoor track and field. Goshen ranked 18th in cross country, 48th in indoor track and field and 47th in outdoor track and field.