At IWU-Marion, athletics is more than competition. Coaches and athletes view training, teamwork, and perseverance as part of a deeper process of spiritual formation. Practices become disciplines, challenges become opportunities to grow in Christ, and victories point beyond the scoreboard. The 2025 NAIA national championships in men’s cross country and women’s volleyball reflect not only elite performance, but teams committed to pursuing Christ-centered excellence together.
On a foggy November morning in Tallahassee, Florida, the IWU men’s cross-country team achieved its long-awaited goal, winning the NAIA National Championship for the first time in program history.
The Wildcats secured the title through disciplined pack running. Five runners finished inside the top 40, and IWU totaled 117 points after several consecutive top-five national finishes. The victory reflected a program steadily growing together with shared purpose.
As the official scoreboard listed his team in first place, second-year head coach Brody Beiler stood at a distance, tears filling his eyes. Why this team, in this year, experienced that victory is something he leaves in God’s hands. But he knows the journey itself served as a vehicle for spiritual formation.
“The national championship was not the reward,” he said. “What our runners sowed, becoming more disciplined people and pursuing Christ-centered excellence, was the true fruit.”
Whether through physical sacrifices in training or spiritual endurance in difficult seasons, Beiler believes sowing the seeds of Christ-centered excellence means encouraging his athletes to daily pick up their cross, developing a consistent sharpening of the spirit that bears fruit long after a final race.
“Discipline is a holy venture. It is long obedience in the same direction,” Beiler said, quoting author and theologian Eugene Peterson. “If my athletes leave this program understanding that, I’ve accomplished my God-given purpose as a coach.”
A championship was achieved, but for Beiler and his team, running into the arms of Jesus was the ultimate goal all along.
Hat trick. Trifecta. Back-to-back-to-back.
However it is described, three consecutive national championships is an uncommon accomplishment. With its third straight NAIA National Championship this past season, the IWU women’s volleyball team joined a small group of programs in NAIA history to win three consecutive national titles. The Wildcats secured the crown with a 3-1 victory over Northwestern College at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa, and finished the season with a 33-4 record.
But for Head Coach Candace Moats, the story behind the Wildcats’ legacy is not only about the game. It is about identity, surrender, and freedom in Christ.
“This team had a certain calmness this year,” Moats said. “When they realized who they are in Christ is already enough, they began focusing on the pure joy of playing together. This third national championship win is a byproduct of
that surrender.”
That composure showed even in the title match. After splitting the first two sets, the Wildcats secured the championship by winning the final two sets.
For Moats, there is no separation between athletic and spiritual formation. Rather, the joy, self-discipline, and trust needed to compete at the highest level are also traits her athletes will carry into life beyond Wildcat Country.
“I believe volleyball is a training ground for dependency,” Moats said, “both on God and people. Just as my players need each other during a difficult practice, they need Christian community so they can face life’s challenges.”
History will remember the three-peat, the championship confetti, the banners, and the glory. But this legacy runs deeper. It is one of athletes formed not just to compete, but to serve.
