Running with Sophie
With 800 meters to go in the national steeplechase final, Sophie Bull ’26 stopped dwelling on her nerves and locked in on the finish in the rain. Rain poured, barriers kept rising, and the runners behind her began to fade. By the bell lap, Bull had opened a gap that carried her to the line as the NCAA Division III champion in the 3,000 meter steeplechase.
The steeplechase pairs distance racing with fixed barriers and a water jump each lap. Bull finished in 10:11.73, a Calvin record and one of the fastest Division III times.
Bull began running in her junior year of high school at Denver Christian. She became the 2025 Great Lakes Regional women’s cross country athlete of the year and won the regional 6K in Louisville, Kentucky. Across cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track, she has earned five All America honors.
Off the results sheet, Bull introduces herself simply. She is from Denver, Colorado, majors in kinesiology, and values time outdoors and with family and friends. She has spent the last two seasons as a co-captain, helping plan team events and keeping teammates motivated.
After graduation, Bull plans to stay in Grand Rapids and work for a year before graduate school to become a physician assistant. She also hopes to keep running for the foreseeable future. This indoor season, she opened with a 5K at GVSU that should qualify her for the indoor national meet in Birmingham, Alabama in March.
See an expanded version of this story in Chimes: (December 9, 2025). After Spark went to print, Sophie Bull won the 3,000 meter race at the NCAA DIII indoor track and field championships. Read about that race at (Calvin Sports Report, March 15, 2026).