SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – North Dakota State’s Reagan Baesler and Oral Roberts’ Abraham Chelangam were voted the 2024 Summit League Cross Country Athletes of the Year, League officials unveiled Wednesday. The award recipients were selected by a vote from the League’s head coaches based on the student-athletes' respective performances throughout the 2024 cross country season.
 
Baesler’s Summit League Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year honor is the fifth individual honor for the Bison, the last coming when NDSU’s Kelby Anderson took home the award in 2019.
 
Chelangam is the first Golden Eagle to claim the honor on the men’s side since ORU’s Jonah Lagat in 2008.
 
For the first time since 2021, South Dakota State Bargmann Endowed Head Coach for Track & Field/Cross Country Rod DeHaven walked away with both Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year awards. It’s the fourth honor on the women’s side for DeHaven and the ninth consecutive award on the men’s side.
 
For the third time in program history, DeHaven guided the Jackrabbits to both Summit League Cross Country Championship trophies. The SDSU men garnered their league record ninth-consecutive championship title while the women captured their third crown in the last five years.
 
DeHaven’s women’s squad went on to finish 12^th overall at the NCAA Midwest Regional meet while the men took sixth place and saw Carson Noecker clinch a spot in the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Noecker went on and clocked a 10k time of 29:29.6 good for 44^th place out of 252 competitors.
 
Below is a more thorough breakdown of each student-athletes’ 2024 cross country season.
 
Reagan Baesler, North Dakota State
Sr | Mayville, N.D.

• Captured a league-leading three peak performer weekly honors during the season.
• Owned four of the top 10 6k times in the League this season including the top time of 20:14.9 (NCAA Midwest Region Cross Country Championships).
• Finished in the top five in five of six meets she competed in this season.
• Won the Summit League women’s cross country title and Championship MVP honor with a 6k time of 20:34.04.
• Her winning Summit League Championship time ranks second all-time in Summit League Cross Country Championship history.
• Posted the fifth-best finish ever by a Bison woman at the NCAA Midwest Regional finishing 12 overall with a personal-best 6k time of 20:14.9.
• Her time at the Midwest Regional ranks fourth-fastest on the NDSU all-time cross country list and earned her All-Region honors for the first time in her career.

Abraham Chelangam, Oral Roberts
R-So | Kapchorwa, Uganda

• Owned the league's top 6K time (17:45.7) and 8K time (23:35.4) this season.
• Earned a league-best three peak performer honors for his performances during the regular season.
• Broke the 24-minute barrier in the 8k event three times during the season making him one of four men to accomplish the feat.
• Clocked a Summit League Cross Country Championship meet record 8k time of 23:41.43 to earn the individual crown and Championship MVP honors.
• Was the first Golden Eagle to earn the Championship MVP title since ORU's Jonah Lagat claimed the honor the first year it was created (2008).
• At the Midwest Regional, finished fifth overall in the 10k race with an ORU school record and career-best time of 29:12.27.
• Earned All-Region honors and an at-large bid, to become the first Golden Eagle to earn a trip to NCAA Championships since 2009.
• Ran the 10k at the NCAA Championships in a time of 29:51.0 to finish 89^th out of 255 runners.