OAKVILLE, Ala. – The University of Tennessee Southern men's cross country team finished third overall at the 2025 SSAC Cross Country Championships held Friday morning at Oakville Indian Mounds Park. The Firehawks placed two runners in the top five and seven in the top 30, posting a total team time of 2:13:04.99 for an average of 26:37.00 per runner.
Freshman Frankline Kipruto continued his standout debut season, capturing the SSAC individual championship with a time of 25:08.43, finishing ten seconds ahead of the next competitor. Fellow Firehawk Amon Rotich followed close behind in fifth place with a time of 26:20.20, helping the Firehawks stay near the top of the team leaderboard.
Freshman Martin VanHamme placed 17th (27:10.74), while senior JJ Lincoln finished just behind in 19th (27:12.57). Jacob Casteel rounded out the scoring five with a 20th-place effort (27:13.05). Also finishing strong for UT Southern were Luca Neumeister (22nd, 27:31.80) and Matthew Andrea (26th, 28:07.65).
UT Southern's performance highlighted a deep and consistent pack effort, with all seven Firehawk finishers crossing within three minutes of each other.
UT Southern Individual Results
Team Standings
| Rank |
Team |
Score |
Top 5 Runners |
Total Time |
Average |
| 1 |
Mobile |
51 |
2-6-9-13-21 |
2:12:42 |
26:32:55 |
| 2 |
Loyola-New Orleans |
52 |
7-8-11-12-14 |
2:13:38 |
26:43.80 |
| 3 |
UT Southern |
62 |
1-5-17-19-20 |
2:13:04 |
26:37.00 |
| 4 |
Blue Mountain Christian |
102 |
4-10-18-34-36 |
2:18:32 |
27:42.52 |
| 5 |
Faulkner |
153 |
15-26-33-35-44 |
2:23:48 |
28:45.79 |
| 6 |
William Carey |
168 |
3-30-40-45-50 |
2:33:52 |
30:46.54 |
| 7 |
Brewton-Parker Christian |
170 |
28-31-32-38-41 |
2:25:48 |
29:09.79 |
| 8 |
Thomas (Ga.) |
212 |
23-39-47-51-52 |
2:57:37 |
35:31.50 |
UT Southern will now await potential NAIA postseason recognition, with Kipruto's SSAC individual title marking one of the top performances in program history.
