LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Oct. 4, 2025) - Jason Bowers is inevitable. 

The redshirt junior from South Africa finished atop the timing charts for the second consecutive race in 2025 by winning the men's 8k at the Louisville Cross Country Classic on Saturday morning. 

Bowers was four seconds off the pace in 39th at the 2.1-kilometer split but gained 25 positions by the 3.9k mark and stayed steady as the top two runners faded and won with a 23:23.0, winner by 15 seconds over Kennesaw State's Collins KipKemboi. The win is Bowers' fourth in his career. 

Sophomore Chance Underwood also had a good day, rising from 73rd at the first split to finish 36th with a 24:35.0, beating his personal best 8k time set earlier in the season at the Southern Showcase. 

Nolan Pedota finished the course in 25:37.4 while William Hartig, Wesley Luisi, Oliver Cunningham, and Hayden Waleski all set personal bests on Saturday. Hartig turned in a 25:29.9, beating his previous best 8k time from the 2022 Virginia Tech Alumni Invitational by just under five seconds. Luisi came home in 25:49.3, and Cunningham finished in 25:55.3. Waleski finished outside the scoring places for the Bucs but still set a PR by 24 seconds with a 26:06.4, besting his mark at last year's Roanoke Invitational. 

As a team, the Bucs finished 16th of the 32 teams entered in the event, which was won by MTSU over Eastern Kentucky. 

The Bucs will race again on October 18th at the Roanoke Invitational in Virginia, the final race before the 2025 SoCon Cross Country Championship in Mill Springs, North Carolina. 

For more information on ETSU cross country, go to ETSUBucs.com.