Welcome back to the Red Banner Race Report, where we dive into the achievements of the incredible cross country and track and field athletes in the NAIA. I’m your host, Meran, and today, we have a guest who has quite literally rewritten the history books of the Appalachian Athletic Conference.

Joining us is Milligan University senior Ellen-Mary Kearney. During the indoor season, she won the Appalachian Athletic Conference Championships in the 1000, mile, 3000, and DMR and is the back-to-back NAIA national champion in the 3000, winning in 2025 and again this year in 2026. She’s the only female athlete currently qualified at the outdoor A-standard for the 1500, running 4:23 at the Raleigh Relays, which is close to five full seconds faster than the standard of 4:28. She set a division cross country record in November, running 19:59 at the Appalachian Athletic Conference Championships to become the first woman to ever run a sub-20 6K in the NAIA. We’ll talk to Ellen-Mary about her training, goals for the outdoor season, life in her native country of England, and what’s next after graduation for this Milligan star.

Thank you so much for tuning into The Red Banner Race Report. I can’t wait to feature more cross country and track and field athletes from the NAIA…stay tuned because it might just be YOU!

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2 minutes, 47 seconds. That’s how long it took to change Marian University history forever. In the final stretch of the 1000-meter final, our guest today ran her team straight onto the top of the podium for the first Red Banner in program history.

Welcome back to another episode of the Red Banner Race Report, highlighting the achievements and inspiring stories in NAIA cross country and track and field. I'm your host, Meran, and today’s episode is a historic one.

A few weeks ago, in Gainesville, Florida, we didn't just see a championship; we saw a shift in the landscape of the sport. For the first time in program history, the women of Marian University captured that elusive Red Banner, joining their men’s team in a dual-national title sweep.

And if you’re looking for the catalyst behind that victory, look no further than our guest today, Katie Woods of Marian University. She was named the Most Outstanding Individual of the National Meet after a staggering 28-point performance.

Woods won the 1000m individual national title, anchored the National Champion DMR squad, and took home a runner-up finish in the mile—all within a span of 48 hours. She’s the owner of school records in the 800, 1000, and the mile, and she’s a four-time consecutive Crossroads League Athlete of the Week during the indoor season alone, and she’s not done yet. The senior standout chats with us about her dramatic progression as a freshman struggling to race to an All-American National champion, and what’s next on the horizon for her outdoor season.

Thank you so much for tuning into The Red Banner Race Report. I can’t wait to feature more cross country and track and field athletes from the NAIA…stay tuned because it might just be YOU!

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please share, subscribe, and leave a review. You can find The Red Banner Race Report Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and other major media players. You can also ask Alexa to play the podcast.

If you have an idea for a great topic or guest you’d like to hear about, feel free to contact me through the show notes or reach out on Instagram.

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Welcome back to the Red Banner Race Report Podcast, featuring sprinter Netanel Dorothea. His performance at the 2026 NAIA Men’s Indoor Track and Field Championships (held March 5–7 in Gainesville, Florida) was a career-defining weekend. He was the only male athlete to win two individual titles, which earned him the NAIA Most Valuable Performer (MVP). Dorothea is one of the few athletes to achieve the indoor sprint double (winning both the 200m and 400m at the same national meet).

His indoor personal best of 46.69 in the 400 meters is faster than almost every national champion in the last decade, placing him solidly in the top 10 all-time for NAIA indoor 400m sprinters.

In the 200, Dorothea has shown incredible range across both indoor and outdoor seasons. His indoor PB of 20.75 (2025) is an extremely rare sub-21-second mark for the NAIA, and he is consistently within a tenth of a second of the fastest times ever recorded in the association's outdoor history: ONLY eight runners in NAIA history have gone sub-21 indoors.

In this episode, we’ll get to know this incredibly fast and friendly athlete who hails from the Netherlands, but currently calls Madonna University in Michigan home.

Thank you so much for tuning into The Red Banner Race Report. I can’t wait to feature more cross country and track and field athletes from the NAIA…stay tuned because it might just be YOU!

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please share, subscribe, and leave a review. You can find The Red Banner Race Report Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and other major media players. You can also ask Alexa to play the podcast.

If you have an idea for a great topic or guest you’d like to hear about, feel free to contact me through the show notes or reach out on Instagram.

Send us a message

Follow RBRR on Instagram @redbannerracereport