HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (September 14, 2025) – The University of North Alabama cross country teams competed Friday morning at the Southern Showcase, with the men finishing 20th and the women placing 34th.
Final results were delayed due to technical issues and were not released by XPressTiming until Sunday evening.
Sophomore Brian Bett led the men's team with an 18th-place finish, clocking in at 24:03.04 — nearly matching his 24:02.36 time from last year's race on the same course where he finished eighth.
Sophomore Sandra Maiyo placed 20th in the women's race, running a 17:13.6 — just four seconds shy of Teresa Steele's program record of 17:09.
Bett also showed significant improvement from last week, cutting nearly 28 seconds off his UNA Invitational time of 24:31.33. Maiyo ran a 17:35.01 which set a new UNA personal record by nearly 22 seconds.
The men's division saw 459 finishing runners in the field, as five Lions found the top half. While Bett placed 18th, sophomore Aidan Shannon cracked the top 100, finishing 83rd with a time of 25:01.10 — a personal best and an improvement of 1:16 from his Southern Showcase debut last season.
Three freshmen also recorded personal bests. Reigning ASUN Freshman of the Week Jack Gruber finished with a 25:46.89, Cole Smith with a 26:26.06 and Owen Otto with a 26:40.69.
Sophomore Sammy Sang beat last week's time by 41 seconds as he crossed with a 26:12.7.
The women's division saw 481 finishing times, nearly a 30 person jump from 2024.
Maiyo led the Lions, followed by junior Camille Etheridge and freshman Audrey Becker, the reigning ASUN Freshman of the Week. Etheridge was the second UNA finisher with a time of 19:19.51, while Becker finished with a 19:58.33.
This is Etheridge's fastest time at the Southern Showcase by nearly a minute — she ran a 20:17.6 in 2023.
Freshman Cambree Bradford earned a new personal record by 21 seconds with her 22:05.8.
North Alabama men slotted into 20th place with 563 points. The winning team, Alabama, finished with 32 points.
UNA bested teams such as Western Kentucky, South Florida, FGCU, Chattanooga, Marshall, Stetson, West Georgia and Troy, among others. The Lions were the second-highest finishing ASUN team behind Lipscomb.
The women's 34th spot earned them 1021 points. They team out-raced the likes of Troy and West Georgia.
Next up, the Lions have a week off before they head to the Gans Creek Classic in Columbia, Mo. on Friday, Sept. 26 at Gans Creek Cross Country Course.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
