A runner for his hometown Lions from Ellendale, North Dakota, Theo Thurber was a 2024 NCCAA Division II Men’s Cross Country All-American, finishing ninth at the event in the 8K. Thurber is a two-time NCCAA Division II Men’s Cross Country Student-Athlete of the Week Award winner, and earned the 2025 Elvin and Joyce King Award for Division II Men’s Cross Country.

Thurber had a unique path to college athletics, as he did not compete for the Lions his freshman year. Instead, Thurber dedicated his time to missions at home and abroad, serving in the United States on the Pine Ridge Reservation and across several states, while spending his second semester in India, Turkey, and Greece. He also spent this past summer as a pastoral intern in Paynesville, Minnesota, and plans to study in Israel this Spring.

In this episode, Thurber talks about running for his mom and with his wife at TBC, his time overseas, and how he shares his faith on the course and abroad.

A native of Kiel, Wisconsin, Haley Mersberger just finished her senior season at UNW, scoring 21 goals, the second-most in the NCCAA, and tallying 15 assists, guiding the Eagles to the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) regular season championship and their first appearance in program history at the 2025 NCCAA Division I Women’s Soccer National Championship. Mersberger ranks first in UNW program history in career goals (89), single-season goals (29), single-game goals (6), game winning goals (21), career points (193), and single season points (63).

Off the pitch, Mersberger will graduate from the University of Northwestern with a 4.00 GPA as a ministry leadership major. Mersberger spent time on a mission trip with the UNW soccer team to Spain, led faith-based soccer camps in the greater Minneapolis area, and led Bible studies in the community. She also has seen a middle school Bible study she helped lead turn into a church plant and plans to return home to continue to help with The Well of Elkhart Lake after graduation.

In this episode, Mersberger talks about growing up in a Christian home, how she began playing soccer and arriving to Northwestern, her experience at the 2025 NCCAA Division I Women’s Soccer National Championship, and how she plans to serve her church and community after graduation.

A native of St. Catherine’s, Ontario, James Kryger played collegiate soccer for NCAA Division II Wheeling Jesuit University from 1999-2000. During his time at WJU, Kryger was a two-time All-Conference selection and won a pair of West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletics Conference championships. Kryger then played for NCAA Division I Cleveland State University in 2001, recording 121 saves in 25 matches playing for the Vikings. 

 

After his playing career, Kryger had assistant coaching stops at Western Carolina University and Campbell University, before being named the head coach of the Palm Beach Atlantic University women’s soccer program. During his time with the Sailfish, Kryger guided PBA to the 2010 NCCAA South Regional Championship and a runner-up finish in the 2010 NCCAA Division I Women’s Soccer National Championship. 

Currently, Kryger is the Director of Athletics for Redeemer University in Ancaster, Ontario, joining the NCCAA in 2022. Since the Royals have joined the NCCAA, Redeemer has recorded 29 NCCAA Scholar Athletes, four NCCAA National Championship appearances, four All-Tournament Team members, two All-Americans, and one Game Plan 4 LIFE Award winner. Redeemer University was also named a #KingChasing Institution for the 2024-25 school year. 

A former middle blocker for the Saints’ volleyball team, Katelyn Crosby was a 2023 NCCAA DII Women’s Volleyball First Team All-American and earned All-Tournament Team honors in 2023. Crosby was also a member of a Randall team that finished 23-5 in 2024, earning the top seed at the 2024 NCCAA Division II Volleyball National Championship and won the Southwest Regional Championship. In her career, Crosby hit over .300, while finishing in the top 10 in the NCCAA for hitting percentage, aces, points, and blocks the last two seasons.

Crosby earned the 2024 Dr. Vickie Grooms Denny Award for DII Women’s Volleyball and was named the 2024-25 NCCAA Gameplan 4 LIFE Female Student-Athlete of the Year, graduating with a 4.0 GPA while majoring in psychology and as a ministry student. The Idaho native also serves in her church teaching kids programs, working in the nursery, helping with the youth group weekly, and doing photography at church events.

Following her playing career, Crosby is now the Admissions and Recruiting Coordinator for Randall University, while also returning to the court as an Assistant Volleyball Coach this season for the Saints. 

 

In this episode, Crosby talks about how she found Randall University, how she grew her faith while playing volleyball, and how important it is for her to serve in the church and the local community of Moore, Oklahoma. 

A former cornerback for North Dakota State University (NDSU) from 2005-2009, Rich Bowman was part of a Bison defense that led the FCS in pass defense and ranked fifth in total defense in 2008, as NDSU was making their transition from NCAA Division II to eventual FCS national power. Bowman recorded 101 total tackles, 16 pass break ups, and one interception in his career in Fargo, and was nominated for the 2008 FedEx Orange Bowl Courage Award after returning to the field following a neck injury during the 2007 season. Bowman also earned a spot on the 2009 Allstate Good Works Team, joining players such as Florida’s Tim Tebow along with 22 total players from all levels of football that embody the spirit of teamwork and community service.

Following his playing career, Bowman earned his Master of Divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and currently serves as the campus pastor for The Summit Church’s Downtown Durham campus in Durham, North Carolina. Bowman is also part of a team that is preparing to plant a church in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2026.

In this episode, Bowman talks about growing up in Houston, Texas, his playing career at North Dakota State and overcoming his neck injury, and his journey into joining the ministry field.

Matthew Tomlinson is an assistant coach for the Emmaus University men’s basketball program and played for the Eagles from 2014-18. During his time as a player, Matthew was a 1,000-point scorer, averaging 12.4 points per game while shooting 34.4 percent from beyond the arc his senior year, and was an NCCAA Scholar-Athlete. As a coach, Tomlinson was part of the staff that guided Emmaus to the 2022 NCCAA DII Men’s Basketball North Regional Championship and an appearance at the 2022 NCCAA DII Men’s Basketball Championship.

Sharon Tomlinson is also a former player and head coach for the Emmaus University women’s basketball team, suiting up for the Eagles from 2014-18. As a player, Sharon was a three-year captain for Emmaus and an NCCAA scholar-athlete, while also guiding the Eagles to a 2018 NCCAA DII Women’s Basketball North Regional Championship and an appearance at the 2018 NCCAA DII Women’s Basketball National Championship. Sharon just finished her first season as Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach for Faith Baptist Bible College, helping guide FBBC to a 25-5 overall record, the most wins in program history.

In this episode, both Tomlinson siblings discuss how they got to Emmaus from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, their dynamic being siblings while playing and coaching at the same school, and the uniqueness of lining up on opposite benches for the first time this past season.  

A native of The Woodlands, Texas, Brynn King is currently a graduate student at Roberts Wesleyan University, competing on the Redhawks track & field team. King was the first-ever NCAA Division II National Champion at RWU, winning the 2024 NCAA indoor pole vault national championship. King did so by breaking her own NCAA Division II indoor pole vault record, clearing 4.65 meters (15-feet, 3 inches) at the NCAA Division II Championships in Pittsburg, Kansas. She has since won two more NCAA National Championships in pole vault, and just set the NCAA women’s outdoor pole vault record with a jump of 4.75-meters (15-feet, 7-inches) at the 97th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays on March 29.

King also competed for the United States Olympic Team in 2024 in Paris, France after clearing a jump of 4.73 meters (15-feet, 6 1/4 inches) on June 30 at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field during the Olympic Trials to catapult from eighth in the standings to finish third and earn a spot on Team USA for the 2024 Paris Olympics. King would go on to finish 22nd in the event in her first Olympic appearance. 

In this episode, King discusses how she got involved in track & field, how she overcame injuries by surrounding herself with believers who encouraged her off the track, her experience at the Olympic Trials and at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and how the Roberts Wesleyan community has rallied around her over the last year.  

Josh Lindblom is a former Major League Baseball pitcher, as he was drafted in the second round of the 2008 MLB draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers, and also played in the South Korean KBO League, earning the KBO MVP Award after going 20-3 with a 2.50 ERA and 189 strikeouts over 194.2 innings with Doosan. Michael Maiocco is a former pitcher for Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida, where he finished his collegiate career with a 21-10 record, 203 strikeouts, and pitched a pair of complete games for the Saints in 203.1 innings of work.

 

In this episode, Lindblom and Maiocco discusses their playing careers, their feelings of being lost after seeing their careers end in different ways, how they met and started Congruency, and how their faith has shaped them throughout baseball and in life.  

Nina Daman competed on both the cross country and track & field teams at Campbellsville University and was a two-time All-Mid-South Conference runner. Off the course, Daman graduated this fall with a 3.91 GPA while majoring in art with a graphic design emphasis. 

She has been an NCCAA and NAIA Scholar-Athlete in both track & field and cross country and has earned Mid-South Conference Academic honors in both sports.

 

From Lexington, Kentucky, Daman grew up as an orphan in China, living in an overcrowded orphanage without the resources or leadership to properly take care of her. However, Daman was adopted by a family that puts the Lord first in everything they do. This led to Daman becoming a leader in the Campbellsville FCA, a member of the Campbellsville and Mid-South Conference Athletic Leadership Team, and a member of 3Trees Church. Daman has also been on a mission trip to Alaska with the athletes from Campbellsville University. 

 

Daman is the first cross country runner in NCCAA history to earn the Bullock Award for NCCAA DI Women’s Cross Country in back-to-back seasons since the award was introduced in 2002, winning the award in 2023 and in 2024. 

 

In this episode, Daman discusses her life growing up in China, how her parents led her to Christ, how she found Campbellsville University and the sport of cross country, and how she plans to spread Christ in her postgrad career.

Grant Clayton is a graduate of Coastal Carolina University, where he was a kicker for the Chanticleers in 2011 and 2012. Clayton ranks eighth all-time in field goal percentage, eighth all-time in field goals made, and seventh all-time in PAT kicks made in the history of the Coastal Carolina football program. Clayton was also a member of the 2012 Big South Championship team that advanced to the second round of the FCS Playoffs.

 

Clayton currently works as the Partnership Development Manager for World Relief Upstate SC in Greenville, South Carolina, an organization that helps refugees from foreign countries establish a new life in their local communities in the United States and gets them involved with a local church. He is also an associate pastor at Redeemer City Church in Greenville, South Carolina.

 

In this episode, Clayton discusses how he came to know the Lord while at Coastal Carolina, his memories of playing football, and how he works with refugees and local churches with World Relief.