FHSU Athletics
NEW ORLEANS - Fort Hays State senior distance runner Emily Diercks-McCullough has been named the 2025 NCAA Division II Cross Country Central Region Athlete of the Year, announced Thursday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
McCullough has had a dominant senior season, going unbeaten against NCAA Division II opponents through five races. The Hoxie, Kan. native claimed three titles, winning the Central Region Championship, the MIAA Championship and placing first Wichita State's JK Gold Classic.
Thanks to her win at regionals, McCullough will head to the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships for the second-straight season this Saturday (Nov. 22) in Kenosha, Wisc. beginning at 10 a.m. She placed 71st out of 261 runners at last year's national meet.
Her MIAA title was the second-straight conference championship for McCullough, while she was the first Tiger in the program's NCAA DII history to claim the regional title.
Just in her second year at FHSU, McCullough is now a five-time All-MIAA honoree (two XC, three T&F), a three-time All-Region selection (two XC, one T&F) and a one-time All-American (T&F).
McCullough is no stranger to national championship events after competing in two NJCAA Cross Country national meets and three NJCAA track national events during her time at Colby CC. Diercks was a cross country All-American after finishing sixth as a sophomore in 2022, while she placed 51st as a freshman in 2021. She went on to earn numerous All-American trophies in track, including winning the 2023 NJCAA Indoor 3,000m national title.