Justin Watson enters his sixth year as Head Cross Country Coach and third year as Head Track & Field Coach at the University of Tennessee Southern in the 2025–26 season. He joined the Firehawk staff in October 2020.
Under Watson's leadership, both the men's and women's programs have seen consistent improvement and record-setting performances.
UT Southern officially added men’s and women’s Track & Field programs in the 2023–24 season.
In the 2024–25 season, UT Southern Track & Field produced four SSAC individual champions:
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Bruno Villazon captured the conference title in both the 5000 meters and the 3000-meter steeplechase,
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Jacob Sanchez earned the SSAC Championship in the Javelin.
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Frankline Kipruto took home the 1500-meter individual title.
In Cross Country, three Firehawks qualified for the NAIA National Championship: Bruno Villazon, Emma Vizina, and Cierra Arnold. Villazon was also named NAIA Cross Country Runner of the Week.
In 2023-24, both cross country teams finished in the top five in the SSAC Championships. (Men placing 3rd and Women placing 4th) Alyssa Andrea became the first female in program history to qualify for the NAIA Championship.
In the 2022–23 season—his third at the helm—junior transfer Titus Korir set a new men’s 8k school record of 25:51 at the Bobcat Invitational and became just the second athlete in program history to earn Mid-South Conference Runner of the Week honors. The men posted their best-ever team finish at the Mid-South Conference Championship, placing sixth, with Korir and freshman Matthew Andrea earning Second Team All-Conference honors. On the women’s side, freshman Olivia Barksdale lowered the 5k school record to 19:55 and became the first women's runner in program history to receive conference Runner of the Week honors.
In 2021–22, Watson’s second season, the Firehawk men continued their rise with Azariah Kaplelach and Josh Iglus earning All-Conference honors. Kaplelach made program history by claiming the team’s first individual title at the Firehawk Invitational and the program's first Mid-South Runner of the Week honor. The men also improved their highest conference finish to seventh. On the women’s side, Briley Bain claimed six of the top ten all-time 5k marks, while four Firehawks earned Mid-South All-Academic recognition.
In his debut 2020–21 season, Watson guided the men’s and women’s teams to 9th- and 10th-place finishes, respectively, at the Mid-South Conference Championships. Kaplelach became the program’s first-ever All-Conference honoree, and the Firehawk men claimed the first team title in program history at their home meet.
Before UT Southern, Watson spent two seasons as a Graduate Assistant Coach at the University of West Florida, assisting with both cross country and track programs while earning his Master of Science in Physical Education and Human Performance.
A native of Rogersville, Alabama, Watson was a standout student-athlete at the University of North Alabama from 2014–2018. During his collegiate career, he helped lead the program through its transition from NCAA Division II to Division I and graduated holding five of the program’s top ten 8k times—including the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th fastest—and school records in the 5k and 7k distances. He also tied for the 4th fastest 10k time. Watson earned All-Gulf South Conference honors in 2016 and 2017, NCAA Division II All-Region honors in 2017, and claimed individual titles at the 2017 Stan Sims Invitational and 2018 UAH Invitational. As of the 2021 season, he still held the highest individual finish (15th) for North Alabama at the NCAA Division I ASUN Championships.
Watson was honored as a member of the North Alabama All-Decade Team (2010–2019). He holds a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies with an emphasis in Health and a Minor in Mathematics from UNA.
Coach Watson is married to his wife, Laura. The couple welcomed their daughter, Blakely, in March of 2025.
