Leavenworth, Kan.— The University of Saint Mary women's flag football team has wrapped up what was a tremendous year of team growth throughout the 2026 season under first-year head coach Elle Campbell. Coach Campbell's squad would continue to build their foundation week after week as her young team built confidence, trusted one another, centered their focus on hard work and development, and gave it their all on the field.

USM would fight all season, earning gritty wins over the Cottey College Comets, Bethel College Threshers, and the Owls of William Woods University and would unfortunately just miss the cut for KCAC post-season play. Statistically, the Spires would be led offensively by quarterback, Kyendra Thomas racking up 788 rushing yards and showcasing her dual-threat capabilities all season long, throwing 12 touchdowns to her USM teammates and rushing for 7 more. Dual sport athlete Yaneila Romanlopez and Eli Miranda would also account for a large part of the Spire offense, averaging 6.4 yards and 3.0 yards on 12 and 23 attempts, respectively.

Defensively, Eli Miranda would be the anchor for USM on the field. Miranda would account for 63 solo tackles this season and a jaw-dropping 25.5 sacks accounting for 161 yards. In the Spires April 18^th match up against the Comets, Miranda would impressively total 14 tackles in just 48 minutes of play. Ma'Kayla Acres and Bralei Criss would also step up for their squad, tallying 33 and 36 solo tackles and assisting on an additional ten plus tackles each for the duo. Criss herself would grit out two interceptions in two different games this season, once against Hesston College on March 7^th and then again a few days later on March 11^th when she was awarded another two interceptions against Graceland—an extremely impressive stat line for the junior from Dallas, Texas.

Junior duo Bralei Criss and Kerisma Delgado would be the lone Spires to work their way on the Spring 2026 KCAC Scholar-Athlete Honors list, another exciting accomplishment for a team who's shown relentless determination on and off the field. Criss would also be honored as she was named to All-KCAC Honorable Mention post season team alongside teammate Eli Miranda as All-KCAC Honorable Mention and punter Valery Chacon who was also named to All-KCAC Honorable Mention—an ending to be proud of for the Spire athletes.

 Coach Elle Campbell boasted about her team in her inaugural season explaining just how excited she is to continue to build the standards for years to come. "Through adversity, the girls showed an immense amount of effort—to me this season was about our growth as a program," stated Campbell. USM finished this year with confidence and momentum as they found their stride, setting the stage for continued growth in the seasons ahead.