Rising to the challenge - four-year Lark athletics

above: first NAIA win - This fall the Larks took to the fields and courts for the first time as a four-year college, and the women’s soccer team brought home the first victory, 2-1, in an August 23, 2025 match with McPherson (Kan.) College. Photo by Nolan Gorman

Hesston College began a new era of athletics in 2025 as they began their first year competing as a four-year institution in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) after nearly 70 years of competing as a junior college. 

“The transition to four-year athletics was a necessary step for the growth of Hesston College,” says Athletic Director Bryan Kehr. “It allows us to more fully execute our mission statement and to see our student-athletes all of the way through their development both on and off the field.”

When this transition was announced, it brought a sense of excitement and hope for the future of Hesston College athletics.

“My initial thoughts were very positive,” recalls Brian Allen, cross country and track head coach. “I loved the idea of getting to work with the same athletes for four years to help them develop athletically and to help them become the young men and women God created them to be.”

Volleyball Head Coach Kassidy Roberts saw this transition as a new beginning for her team.

“Moving up to four-year competition brought on an exciting challenge,” Roberts says. “We would have a chance to play against teams we had never faced before, and we had a chance to make our mark as newcomers.”

Though the junior college era at Hesston has come to a close, the history and tradition formed by nearly seven decades of highly competitive athletics will stand the test of time. Former women’s basketball player and 2025 Hall of Fame inductee Christy (Walker) ’91 Cornell was thrilled to learn about the transition.

“I was honestly jealous,” admits Cornell. “I would have loved to stay at Hesston College for another two years with a higher level of competition and more teams to play.”

Along with all of the positive outcomes of transitioning to a four-year model, there are some immediate, short term struggles that institutions undergoing this change face. Growing rosters, longer road trips and competing against older and more experienced teams are not simple tasks.

“Our lack of experience definitely showed early on in the season, just not having many games played at this level or in college at all,” says Men’s Soccer Head Coach Dante Texeira. “The speed of play going from high school or club soccer to the NAIA is a huge jump. I had hoped we could rise to the challenge of being so young and playing against older and tougher competition, but the guys went above and beyond this fall.”

Expectations for Hesston’s fall sports were not particularly high as they faced tough competition right out of the gate, but success was not as far away as some might’ve thought.

The Lark women’s soccer team started their season with a 2-1 win over McPherson College on Aug. 23, earning Hesston’s first win as an NAIA institution.

Ashleigh Williams, junior goalkeeper and lone upperclassmen on the women’s soccer team, reflects on what this meant to her and how it influences the future.

“It felt very rewarding,” Williams remembers. “The women's soccer program has come so far since I first started. I have always been proud to be a Lark, and now our team is laying the foundation for the program to truly become great.”

The men’s soccer team and the volleyball team followed soon after with their first wins of the season, and the cross country team made strong strides competing against NAIA opponents.

In mid-September, it seemed that all of the fall teams had found their pace as the men’s soccer team would go on to win 10 of their last 12 regular season games to finish 11-7-1, locking in the best overall record for a Hesston men’s soccer team since 1992 and qualifying for the Continental Athletic Conference (CAC) tournament.

Texeira gave all of the credit to his players and their ability to step up to the challenge.

“I credit the players’ resilience and their trust in the process of what was happening to our program,” Texeira says. “We had a rough start, but most of our guys were playing in their first collegiate games ever, while we were up against teams that had been playing together for years. It would have been easy for our guys to quit, say we were too young to be successful and try again next year, but that's not what they did. They kept showing up, learning and improving everyday which eventually led to wins on the field.”

The women’s soccer team also shattered expectations, earning their bid to the CAC tournament with their best season in almost ten years. The Larks lost in the first round in heartbreaking fashion in a penalty shootout that went seven rounds.

“Playing in the conference tournament was a goal at the beginning of the season, and while it wasn’t the outcome we ultimately wanted, it showed not only our team, but the nation, that we have a competitive program,” says Williams.

The volleyball team found success in streaks, posting two separate four-game win streaks to reach a 9-13 overall record, the best program record since 2017. The most impressive win of the season came in their final game against conference opponent Haskell Indian Nations University. The Larks pulled off a reverse sweep of the Indians in Yost Gym, winning 3-2 in front of a roaring home crowd and avenging a loss to Haskell earlier in the season.

“They amazed me with their grit and ambition, demonstrating that we can overcome any challenge together,” Roberts remarks. “As their playing maturity increased, I was proud of them for continuing to push themselves. We had a slow start, but they picked it up quickly, and we began to see on-court success.”

The Larks would fall just short of an appearance in the conference tournament, but Roberts was encouraged by the progress they made in their first season.

“It was a starting point that I am proud of,” she shares. “To have the success we did with a team as young as ours was very encouraging. I am proud of where we started and excited to bring in more classes of girls to grow the program and make it more competitive.”

The cross country team finished the year with multiple honors as they had four runners earn CAC all-conference honors with Arissa Cathey (freshman, Abilene, Kan.) earning first-team honors and Jonah Krumme (freshman, Wichita, Kan.), Nathan Lewis (freshman, Wichita, Kan.) and Maddy Ralph (sophomore, Colwich, Kan.) being named to the second team. Cathey, Krumme and Lewis were all selected to compete at the NAIA national meet in Florida.

Coach Allen believes this will help prospective students see Hesston as a place where they can flourish.

“I think it was important for morale and for recruiting,” explains Allen. “The team celebrated those who succeeded, and with recruiting it helped athletes see that our program is a place where they can come to grow and improve.”

The first season of competition in the NAIA is in the books for these programs, and the future looks bright for HC athletics.

Cornell, the alumna basketball player we spoke to previously, hopes the coming generations of student-athletes at Hesston understand the legacy left by those that came before them.

“I want each of these players to seriously understand and know they are part of something so special and live it and enjoy it,” Cornell says. “We should all be excited for what Hesston College is doing, because now we can spread the joy and excitement of a four-year Hesston experience. We used to say ‘Start Here, Go Everywhere’ and now we have it all.”