SPARTANSBURG, S.C. – Molly Liston of the Gustavus Adolphus College women's cross country team competed in the 2025 NCAA Division III Women's Cross Country Championship on Saturday at the Milliken Research Park. The Gustie senior finished 41^st out of the field of the 294 top DIII runners in the nation with a time of 22:02.8, leading all MIAC runners at the national championship.
 
Liston stood in 142^nd overall after the first 1000 meters with a split of 3:26.1. She continued to rise in the standings after each thousand-meter mark, moving up to 93^rd at the 2k (3:38.3), 79^th at the 3k (3:43.6), 65^th at the 4k (3:38.6), and up to 51^st at the 5k (3:53.2). The senior gave her all on the final 1000 meters of her collegiate career as she ran a 3:43.4 split to finish 41^st in the nation.
 
Her time of 22:02.8 was the top time for a MIAC runner at the national championship. St. Olaf's Lauren Walda followed Liston with a time of 22:05.1 to place 43^rd. Macalester's Ingrid Norquist had the third-best MIAC time, placing 81^st with a 22:41.4.
 
The Gustie senior finished just a fraction of a second away from earning All-American honors. The top 40 finishers earn the accolade, and Liston's time of 22:02.8 was just 0.3 seconds behind the 22:02.5 time of the 40^th-place finisher Kate Tuttle of Williams.
 
"Very proud of Molly and so happy she was able to put such an amazing effort into her final cross race today," said head coach Brenden Huber. "She's worked so hard to get to this moment and race so smart today. We had an All-American effort today and unfortunately came up just a little short. Molly has given so much to this program and we're very happy to have her go out on top."
 
Liston finishes her collegiate career as one of the most accomplished Gusties in the history of the program. This season, the senior led Gustavus to a third-place finish at the MIAC Championship while placing third individually to earn All-Conference honors. At the regional, Liston led the Gusties with a 13^th-place finish to earn All-Region honors. Liston also became just the fourth Gustavus runner to break 22 minutes in the 6k with a time of 21:45.7; the fourth fastest time in the history of the program, trailing only three times all set by alumna Hailey Harren in 2006, establishing Liston as the second-fastest Gustie in the history of the program.