Blue Raiders head to NCAA South Region Championship in Huntsville

Friday, November 14

Huntsville, Ala.

Middle Tennessee

NCAA South Regional

11/13/2025 1:00:00 PM | Men's Cross Country and Track & Field, Women's Cross Country and Track & Field, Track & Field/Cross Country

By: Jayce Standridge, MTSU Athletic Communications

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Middle Tennessee cross country returns to Huntsville, Alabama, on Friday morning for the NCAA South Region Championship, looking to earn a spot at the NCAA National Championship.

Allan Kiplagat and the Blue Raider men are coming off a dominant showing at the Conference USA Championship, where they captured the team title. The group will aim to qualify for nationals in Columbia, Missouri, for the first time since 2019. To automatically advance, MTSU must finish in the top two. Currently, only No. 9 Alabama and No. 19 Georgia are ranked ahead of the Blue Raiders in the latest USTFCCCA South Region rankings.

MTSU's men's lineup includes Kiplagat, Jacinto Gaspar, Brian Kiptoo, Moses Lekokei, Solomon Sayo, Mackdonald Songok and Gabe Allen. The 10K race will again take place at the John Hunt Cross Country Course.

Kiplagat, who won the individual title at the CUSA Championship two weeks ago with a time of 23:34.9, enters ranked No. 23 nationally. If the team does not qualify, Kiplagat will look to earn an individual bid to nationals for the second straight year. Last season, he finished 19th overall — the fastest freshman in the country.

Gaspar is coming off the best race of his career, finishing fourth at the conference meet in 23:54.3 to earn CUSA First Team and Outstanding Senior honors. Kiptoo and Lekokei followed with eighth- and ninth-place finishes, while Sayo placed 15th and was named Freshman of the Meet.

The women's team will feature five runners: Faith Nyathi, Privillege Chikara, Odilia Jepchumba, Eleanor Towe and Hailee Gorham. The group will compete in the 6K race at John Hunt.

Nyathi looks to qualify for nationals for the first time as a Blue Raider. The former 2022 NJCAA individual national champion finished third at the CUSA Championship and earned two first-place finishes during the regular season.

Chikara and Jepchumba earned CUSA Second and Third Team honors, respectively, after strong regular-season performances. The trio of Nyathi, Chikara and Jepchumba went 1-2-3 at the Louisville Classic on Oct. 4, and helped the Blue Raiders take third as a team alongside Towe and Gorham at the Memphis Twilight Classic.

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