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JACKSONVILLE, Ala. (October 30, 2025) – The University of North Alabama cross country teams will be in Jacksonville, Fla. on Friday to compete in the 2205 Atlantic Sun Conference Championship at the River City Nature Park Cross Country Course.
Live results will be available at RoarLions.com via Half-Mile Timing.
Race Information
ASUN Championship – hosted by Atlantic Sun Conference
Location: River City Nature Park Cross Country Course
Women’s 5K: 6:45 a.m.
Men’s 8K: 7:15 a.m.
NOTES
LAST TIME OUT: UNA competed in the Crimson Classic hosted by the University of Alabama earlier this month, marking their second consecutive appearance at the event. Sophomore Brian Bett led the men’s team with a ninth-place finish, clocking a time of 23:59.9 against a field that included Alabama, Auburn and Clemson. The performance helped guide the Lions to a 10th-place team finish — their third top-half finish of the regular season. The men finished 10th out of 20 teams, competing against programs such as Alabama, Clemson, Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech, among others. The women scored 560 points, finishing 21st overall — 65 points ahead of Troy. While labeled a 6K, the women’s race at the Crimson Classic measured closer to 5.8 kilometers. Sandra Maiyo led the Lions with a time of 20:49.8 — potentially a record-breaking performance if the distance had matched a full 6K.
THE FIELD: UNA will be one of 12 teams competing in the ASUN Championship. Other teams include Austin Peay, Bellarmine, Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, Florida Gulf Coast, Jacksonville, Lipscomb, North Florida, Queens, Stetson and West Georgia.
BETT ON IT: Current sophomore Brian Bett took the world by storm during his freshman campaign in 2024. He earned seven ASUN weekly honors — four Freshman of the Week awards and three Runner of the Week awards — highlighting his dominance on the course. So much so, which led him to becoming the first ASUN individual champion in program history after his 23:29.6 finish to give him the ASUN Runner of the Year accolade; this kickstarted a “Year of Champions” for UNA Athletics. Alongside Bett, UNA Men’s Basketball earned the first regular season championship while UNA Men’s Tennis won the first ASUN postseason championship in school history. Bett and the team look to be a foundation piece once again.
HERE’S THE SPREAD: Current sophomore Sandra Maiyo transferred into the North Alabama program over the offseason and has been a standout addition to the program. She has been the highest women’s finisher in each race this season and aims to continue that trend into the championship race. However, this time last season, Maiyo was a Blue Raider for Middle Tennessee. In the CUSA Conference Championship race, she finished seventh as a freshman with a time of 20:45.00 for the 6K race. She ran two 5K races last season with times of 17:31.5 and 17:57.5 — she dashed past those times this season with her 17:13.6 at the Southern Showcase.
LAST SEASON REWIND: Last season, Bett took home the individual crown in Jacksonville to lead all North Alabama runners while leading the men to their second highest finish in school history in fifth — four spots up from the year prior. Headlined by then-senior Laura Mobley, the women finished in seventh — a two spot lift from the 2023 finish. Bett earned ASUN Runner of the Year, First Team All-ASUN and All-Freshman honors while Vincent Chepkwony received Second Team All-ASUN and All-Freshman nods.
THE EMAIL: Head Coach Connor Callahan is known for his motivational quotes and pre-race speeches. Ahead of the ASUN Championships, it was no different. Callahan sent out an email to the team that included encouragement, motivation and the understanding of what lies ahead.
“It’s the biggest week of the season…take a deep breath and remind yourself you’re ready,” said Callahan. ‘You’ve put in the work; the goals don’t change. This race is no different than what we’ve gone to all season — compete to the highest level that you are capable. We continue to stack days and workouts together which further proves you are ready. Let everything go, and enjoy the moment. I am envisioning a race in which we continue to move up and hunt teams down.”
NEXT RACE: The Lions continue postseason races on Nov. 14 in the NCAA South Regional in their own backyard at John Hunt Park in Huntsville, Ala. North Alabama last hosted the South Regionals in 2022.
For more information on the ASUN Championship hosted by the ASUN Conference, click here.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.