RICHMOND, Ky. — The Stetson men's and women's cross country teams delivered a strong showing at the 2026 ASUN Cross Country Championships on Friday morning, with both programs earning fourth-place finishes at The University Club at Arlington in Richmond, Kentucky.
Competing against a challenging conference field, both teams exceeded their fifth-place preseason projections and made significant improvements from last year's championship results. The men climbed three spots from their seventh-place finish in 2025, while the women also moved up three positions after finishing seventh following a tiebreaker a season ago.
The men's team totaled 97 points, narrowly missing the podium by just three points behind third-place Bellarmine. Lipscomb captured the conference championship with 16 points, followed by North Florida with 66. Stetson finished ahead of Florida Gulf Coast, Queens, Jacksonville and West Florida, marking an encouraging step forward for a program that has rewritten its record book throughout the fall.
The result was particularly notable given the strength of the conference field. Lipscomb, North Florida and Florida Gulf Coast all entered the championships ranked among the top 15 teams in the NCAA South Region. Stetson finished ahead of the regionally ranked Eagles, who placed fifth with 129 points.
The fourth-place finish continued a season of progress for the Hatters, who opened the fall by defeating a regionally ranked Miami squad at the Florida Intercollegiate Invitational before producing a historic performance at the Georgia Tech XC Invitational. At Georgia Tech, Stetson finished third overall while establishing a school-record 24:47 average among its scoring five. The meet also featured three of the five fastest 8K performances in program history, led by Jonathan Pena's school-record 24:18.
The women's team matched the men's fourth-place result, collecting 124 points to finish ahead of West Florida, Queens, Bellarmine and Jacksonville.
Lipscomb claimed the women's championship with 15 points, while North Florida finished second with 65 and Florida Gulf Coast placed third with 92.
For the Stetson women, the result represented a significant improvement from the 2025 championship, when the Hatters tied for sixth but fell to seventh on a tiebreaker. This year's fourth-place finish also surpassed the team's fifth-place projection in the preseason coaches' poll.
The performance continued the development of a women's program that returned several key contributors from last season while adding new talent to its lineup. Hannah Judge entered the championship as Stetson's all-time cross country 5K record holder after running 17:33.4 at the 2025 ASUN Championships, while junior Micah Mizell had emerged as a consistent front-runner during her first season with the Hatters.
The Hatters' combined showing provided a strong conclusion to the conference portion of their schedule, with both programs finishing in the top half of the standings and demonstrating substantial year-over-year improvement.
Stetson will now turn its attention to the NCAA South Regional Championships, scheduled for November 13 at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Florida.
About Stetson Athletics
At Stetson University, student-athletes don't just compete—they thrive. Located in historic DeLand, Florida, between Orlando and Daytona Beach, Stetson offers the perfect blend of competitive athletics, academic excellence, and an unbeatable Central Florida lifestyle. As the oldest private university in the region, Stetson supports approximately 500 student-athletes across 19 NCAA Division I sports. Nicknamed the "Hatters" after the institution's namesake John B. Stetson, a hat manufacturer who originated the modern-day cowboy hat, most Stetson athletic teams compete in the Atlantic Sun Conference, where they proudly hold the longest active membership since 1985. With top-tier facilities, personalized support, and a welcoming campus community, Stetson is where students can grow, compete, and succeed. Learn more at GoHatters.com or follow social media accounts @StetsonHatters.
