HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (Sep. 13, 2025) - When the Southern Showcase was over, the ETSU cross country teams had to wait to know how they had fared. So they waited while a technical glitch was sorted out. Then they waited some more. Then they waited to the point that live cable TV coverage with an analyst might have been appropriate, but, more than a day after the event, their results were official, and they liked what they saw.

The men's cross country team finished 17th in a field of 48 teams, led by an outstanding sixth-place finish by Jason Bowers, whose 23:2.01 put him 16 seconds off the winning pace of Alabama's Dismus Lokira. He was followed home by a strong second effort from freshman Garret Hawkins, who bested his debut in Spartanburg two weeks ago with a 24:51.4 in Huntsville, good for 66th in the deep field. Chance Underwood, one of the runners affected by the technical glitch, was later scored with a 25:06.61, landing 95th in the final running order. Freshman Wesley Luisi made his collegiate debut with a 25:56.0, and senior William Hartig rounded out the scoring spots for ETSU with a 25:58.75.

Four more Buccaneers improved on their 8k times set at the USC Upstate Eye Opener on August 29: freshman  Oliver Cunningham by 25 seconds with a 26:11.9, junior Nolan Pedota by 20 seconds with a 26:00.6, junior Nate Hillis by 16 seconds with a 26:32.4, and sophomore Colin Everett by 41 seconds with a 26:53.9. The Bucs were the top SoCon team of three in the event, finishing ahead of Chattanooga (25th) and Mercer (26th).

In the women's 5k, ETSU finished 27th out of 52 teams, led by an 18:20.9 from senior Sophie Beach. Camryn Johnson ran an 18:35.92 while her sister Kendall Johnson set a PR with 18:51.36. Meg Lance shaved more than 90 seconds off her time two weeks ago with a 19:08.98, and Eliza Everett' 19:28.96 rounded out the scoring places.

Other runners for the women all improved. Freshman Madalyn Mahoney set a new best with a 19:33.31; senior Grace Singleton ran a 19:37.29, and freshman Isabella Dentino posted a 20:40.90, a 21 second improvement from her first collegiate race.

The Bucs will have races in consecutive weeks for the only time this season when they head to Blacksburg on Friday for the Hokie Invitational. The women's 5k is at 6:00pm  and the men's 8k is at 6:30pm.

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