Weekend Recap: September 12-14, 2025

Cross country is back in full force.

You better believe they were racing across the nation.

From The USTFCCCA InfoZone: Meets & Results

And we got our eyes peeled for strong performances.

Here are some of the best moments of the weekend.

Alabama Athletes Sweep Individual Titles In Huntsville

Alabama’s Dismus Lokira and Caren Kiplagat came away with individual wins in their respective races at The Southern Showcase on Friday at John Hunt Park in Huntsville, Ala.

Lokira, an All-American in the men’s 10,000 meters at the NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships last spring, stormed to victory in 23 minutes, 11.1 seconds in the 8-kilometer race, leading Alabama to score 32 points for the team win. 

Dennis Kipruto ran 23:20.7 for second and Timothy Kibet ran 23:34.8 for eighth, joining Lokira as other top 10 finishers for the Crimson Tide. Ezekiel Pitireng and Nelson Pariken finished 11th and 12th in 23:48.4 and 23:49.1, respectively, to complete Alabama’s top five.

Auburn tallied 119 points to finish second to their in-state-rival. Nickson Chebii crossed the finish line first for the Tigers, running 23:30.3 for seventh. 

Allan Kiplagat of Middle Tennessee State, 19th at the NCAA Division 1 Cross Country Championships last fall, finished third in 23:22.7. 

Collins Kiprop Kipngok of Kentucky, fifth in the NCAA final of the men’s steeplechase, rounded out the top 10 individuals in 23:44.2. The Wildcats finished with 124 points, earning third as a team.

Kiplagat surged away from the women’s field early on to gain full control of the 5-kilometer race, running an eventual winning time of 16:18.8 to win by 12 seconds. Kentucky’s Janet Jempkemboi Amino, an All-American in the women’s 800, was second to Kiplagat in 16:30.4.

Louisville, led by Emma McGill in sixth in 16:47.4, finished with 69 points, beating out Mississippi State, 88, for the team title.

Olivia Alessandrini also finished in the top 10 for the Cardinals, running 16:53.5 for ninth. Nancy Chepleting (17:00.4, 11th), Julia Schmitt (17:15.4, 21st) and Lucina Rourke (17:16.9, 24th) were in Louisville’s top five.

Courtesy of Keenan Gray, DyeStat.com

Cavaliers Sweep Virginia Invitational

The Virginia men and women not only won their team races at the Virginia Invitational, but also swept the individual titles, too, on Friday at Panorama Farms in Earlysville, Va.

The No. 6 Virigina men beat Johns Hopkins, No. 4 at the NCAA Division III level, 18-59. The No. 20 Viriginia women defeated Williams & Mary 19-65.

Virginia’s Justin Wachtel and Brett Gardner, an NC State transfer, went 1-2 in the men’s 8k race, with Wachtel winning in 23:52.6 and Gardner finished second in 23:52.8. Billy Atkinson (24:24.6, 4th), Richard Moreno (24:25.2, 5th) and Adam Balewicz (24:28.9, 6th) completed Virginia’s top five.

Emmanuel Leblond, a three-time NCAA DIII cross country All-American, finished third in 23:58.8 for the Blue Jays.

Gillian Bushee finished a strong second-half of the women’s 5k to win 16:39.9 while leading the Cavaliers to the team win. Virginia had seven other women alongside Bushee finish in the top 10, including scoring members Tatum David (16:45.6, 3rd), Mary Ellen Eudaly (16:58.3, 4th), Ella Woehlcke (17:00.7, 5th) and Cate Desousa (17:14.8, 6th).

Virginia was on pace for a perfect score through the first couple of kilometers before William & Mary’s Perry Irons broke up the Cavaliers’ pack, finishing second in 16:50.4.

Courtesy of Keenan Gray, DyeStat.com

Northwestern Women’s Early Season Success Continues At Spartan Invitational

Two weeks since their season-opening win at the Cowboy Preview, the Northwestern women put together another dominating team effort at the Michigan State-Auto Owners Spartan Invitational on Friday at the Forsee Akers East Golf Course in East Lansing, Mich.

Led by seven runners finishing in the top 15, Northwestern tallied 18 points, thumping Big Ten foe Michigan State by 71 points. 

Ava Earl, second for Northwestern at the Cowboy Preview, won her second collegiate cross country race of her career, covering the 6k race in 20:14.5. Anna Hightower finished second in 20:16 and Ava Criniti finished fourth in 20:19.9 for the Wildcats. Criniti was first and Hightower was third at the Cowboy Preview.

Holly Smith finished fifth in 20:20.6 and Jackie Holman finished sixth in 20:27.3, rounding out the Northwestern top five.

Michigan State’s Rachel Forsyth, the Big Ten’s Freshman of the Year last fall, finished seventh in 20:31.

Riley Hough led the Michigan State men past NCAA Division II No. 4 Grand Valley State, 28-66, winning the 8k race in 23:41.1.

Grand Valley State’s Koby Fraaza, fifth in the 5,000 at the NCAA DII Outdoor Championships, finished second in 23:44.8. Indiana’s Dylon Nalley finished third in 23:51.

Courtesy of Keenan Gray, DyeStat.com

Florence Caron, Penn State Women Win Big At PSU Spike Shoe Invitational

Florence Caron and the Penn State women owned their home course at the Harry Groves Spike Shoe Invitational, sweeping both the individual and team titles on Friday at the Blue & White Course in University Park, Pa.

Caron led from start-to-finish in the women’s 6k race, covering the fast course in 19:54.7 in her season opener. Caron finished 19th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships last fall.

Caron’s single point sparked a 19-point outing for the Nittany Lions, beating Syracuse by 31 points. Claire Zubey (20:37.3, 3rd), Ada Rand (20:42.3, 4th), Claire Daniels (20:44.8, 5th) and Charlotte Costich (20:46.3, 6th) made up the other 18 points for Penn State.

In the men’s race, Syracuse also swept the individual and team titles, highlighted by a perfect score of 15 points. Assaf Harari won in the 5.2-mile race in 24:58.5, with teammate Sam Lawler finished alongside him in second in 24:59.9. Ben Gabelman (25:01.3, 3rd), Benne Anderson (25:03.9, 5th) and Connell Alford (25:04.9, 6th) followed closely to complete a 6.5-second spread between Syracuse’s top five scorers.

Courtesy of Keenan Gray, DyeStat.com