GAINESVILLE, Fla. (Nov. 10, 2023) – Jason Bowers is heading to the NCAA Championship! 
 
Bowers continued adding to his banner cross country season as he finished fifth at the NCAA South Regional on Friday at the Mark Bostick Golf Course in Gainesville, Fla. Bowers finished the 10K course with a time of 28:51.3. 
 
Bowers is the first Buccaneer men's runner to qualify for a NCAA Championship since Ben Varghese accomplished the feat in 2019. 
 
On Friday, Bowers started off in 12th at the 1000m checkpoint at 2:53.7, while he moved into fifth at the 4000m mark (11:49.3). After dropping to seventh at the 6100m mark, Bowers jumped back into fifth with nearly 3000m left in the race and stayed in that position until the finish. 
 
Alabama went one-two as Hillary Cheruiyot won the individual race with a time of 28:26.8 and teammate Victor Kiprop placed second in 28:29.9. 
 
No. 21 Tennessee won the team event with 68 points, while No. 29 Florida State (71 points) and No. 18 Alabama (86 points) rounded out the top three spots. 
 
ETSU finished 11th with 293 points. 
 
The Bucs were also led by Evan Guzman and Xian Campbell on Friday. Guzman finished 25th with a time of 29:41.4 and Campbell placed 61st in 30:48.1. Guzman and Campbell set new PRs on a 10K course on Friday. 
 
Bowers will run in the NCAA Championship, which will be held next Saturday, Nov. 18 at Panorama Farms in Charlottesville, Va. The 10K race is set to run at 11:10 a.m. and will be televised on ESPNU.  
 
For more information on Buccaneer men's cross country, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men's cross country tab.