MILWAUKEE, Wis. --- Concordia University Wisconsin juniors Emma Ahrens (Stephens City, Va.) and Isaiah Lubner (Campbellsport, Wis.) have been named Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Cross Country Athletes of the Year for the 2025 season.

The awards are voted on by the league's head cross country coaches.

NACC Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Year --- Emma Ahrens, Jr., Concordia University Wisconsin
Ahrens finished the 2025 season with top-10 finishes in each of her five regular-season opportunities. She suffered her only loss to a NACC opponent after taking second to teammate Ainara Sainz de Rozas in the season-opening St. Norbert Tom Barry Invitational. Ahrens then posted a ninth-place finish at the UW-Eau Claire Blugold Invitational and wins at the CUW Ken Weidt Classic and Wisconsin Private College Championships before winning the individual title at the 2025 NACC Championships.

Ahrens led virtually from wire-to-wire en route to the women's individual title at the 2025 NACC Cross Country Championships. She was matched by Aurora's N'Dya Fields over the first kilometer but broke out over the next two kilometers, building a 22-second lead by the 3-kilometer mark. Ahrens (22:35.7) continued to build the lead, eventually winning by a full minute over teammate Melanie Arvis (23:36.0). It was her third top-6 finish at the NACC meet after taking fourth in 2023 and sixth in 2024.

Ahrens followed up her league crown with an eighth-place finish (22:06.2) at the NCAA North Region Championships to secure her first all-region honor and a trip to the NCAA Cross Country Championships.

At the national meet, Ahrens was relatively slow out of the gate, ranking just 217th out of 290 runners after the first kilometer. She steadily moved up the rankings, though, picking up nearly 150 spots over the next two kilometers to rank 69th at the midway point of the race. Ahrens hit the 5-kilometer mark in 56th place, but slid two spots over the final 1,000 meters to finish in 58th place with a time of 22:18.9, just over two minutes (2:02.1) behind national champion Audrey Maclean of Middlebury (20:16.8).

This is Ahrens' second NACC major award in cross country. She was also the 2023 NACC Freshman of the Year. During the 2025 season, Ahrens was a four-time NACC Women's Cross Country Student-Athlete of the Week.

Additionally, this is the third time a CUW harrier has secured the league's top honor in women's cross country (LaNea Bartel, Spring 2021; Samantha Gries, 2009).

NACC Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Year --- Isaiah Lubner, Jr., Concordia University Wisconsin
After opening the season with a ninth-place finish at the St. Norbert Tom Barry Invitational (6K - 19:23.0), Lubner proceded to wih the CUW Ken Weidt Classic (25:54.5) and the Wisconsin Private College Championships (25:53.2). He also competed at the UW-Eau Claire Blugold Invitational, placing 24th (25:45.5) in a field of more than 300 runners.

Lubner capped his regular season with a win at the 2025 NACC Cross Country Championships. After running the first half of the race in a tightly-knit group at the head of the field, he and Benedictine's Karan Shetty formed a two-man breakaway and broke out over the final four kilometers. Lubner and Shetty went through the splits at 5K, 6K, and 7K virtually side-by-side, building a 10-second gap to the rest of the field headed to the final kilometer. Lubner pulled away down the stretch, eventually stopping the clock in 25:35.9 - over six seconds clear of Shetty and 20 seconds better than anyone else in the field.

Lubner completed his season at the 2025 NCAA Division III North Region Championships, where he picked up all-region honors with a 33rd-place finish. He hit both of the first two intermediate splits (1.6K, 3.3K) in 62nd place, climbing to 56th place by the 5-kilometer mark. Lubner continued his late charge over the final three kilometers, making up 12 more spots by the 6.3K mark and further 11 spots between there and the finish line. He stopped the clock in 25:40.0. Despite six North Region programs being selected for the national meet, Lubner found himself on the outside looking in for a chance to run at the national meet. 

This is Lubner's first NACC major award in cross country. He also earned four NACC Men's Cross Country Student-Athlete of the Week honors during the 2025 season.

Additionally, this is the sixth time a CUW student-athlete has earned the NACC's top honor in men's cross country (Timmy Brey, 2023; Andy Ashenden, 2009 & 2010; Micah Lorenzen, 2006 & 2007).