MILL SPRINGS, N.C. (Nov. 1, 2025) - Jason Bowers has had a season for the ages and is showing no signs of slowing down, or at least no one is catching him. 

The redshirt junior from Parys, South Africa, blew away the field at the 2025 SoCon Men's Cross Country Championship at Tryon Equestrian Center to win by 30.3 seconds with a time of 23:44.3, leading ETSU to its seventh runner-up finish in the last nine years. 

The win is Bowers' fourth consecutive appearance on the top step of the podium this season. He is the first SoCon champion for the Buccaneers since Derek Murphy in 1995. 

Bowers had a 1.6 second lead after the first 700 meters of the 8k race and built it steadily, reaching the halfway mark 14 seconds ahead of the field and already starting his celebration by the time Furman's Albert Velikonja crossed the finish line in second place. 

Chance Underwood continued his strong form with his third top 10 finish of 2025, coming home 10th with a 25:06.2. Senior William Hartig crossed the line 21st with a 25:55.5. Nolan Pedota finished 27th with a 26:09.3, and Nate Hillis was the final points-scoring entry for the Bucs at 26:16.9, finishing 29th. 

Hayden Waleski finished 36th with a 26:29.4. Oliver Cunningham came home 38th with a 26:35.2. Freshman Wesley Luisi turned in a 27:13.8 to finish 49th, and Josh Hunt was 52nd with a 27:21.8. 

As a team, ETSU finished second with 85 points. Furman won its 13th consecutive team title with 20 points, posting 6 of the top 7 finishers. 

The Bucs will turn the page to the NCAA South Regional on November 14 in Huntsville, Alabama, and the top two teams plus the top four runners not on a qualifying team will automatically advance to the NCAA Cross Country Championship in Columbia, Missouri, on November 22. 

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