Auburn cross country opened the 2025 season Thursday evening at the JSU Foothills Invitational in Oxford, Alabama, with strong showings from both squads against regional competition.
The meet marked the Tigers’ first test of the fall and offered a glimpse of both seasoned veterans and promising newcomers, including two freshmen making their collegiate debuts. It was a chance for the new runners to gain experience and for returning athletes to shake off the off-season rust, setting the tone for the upcoming fall season.
The men’s race led off the Foothills Invitational at 5:30 p.m. Auburn placed second in the team standings, finishing 10 points behind host Jacksonville State despite claiming the top two individual spots. Sophomore Nickson Chebii won the race in 14:44, followed closely by junior Max Hardin in second with a time of 14:48. Freshman Bryce McCleary finished fifth overall in his debut in 14:59, while junior Evan Hill added a ninth-place finish in 15:08. With four runners finishing inside the top 10, Auburn appeared well-positioned to claim the team title.
In cross country, a team’s score is calculated by adding the finishing positions of its top five runners, making depth a critical factor. While the Tigers’ front pack finished highly, the gap to the fifth scorer allowed Jacksonville State to gain just enough points to secure the overall team victory. The men’s result displayed the importance of having a strong fifth runner to complement the team’s top four, a factor the Tigers will look to address as the season continues.
Later that evening, Auburn flipped the script in the women’s race. Despite Jacksonville State producing the top two individual finishers, Auburn’s depth carried the Tigers to a first-place team finish by 14 points over the Gamecocks. Juniors Cady McPhail and Mary Mac Collins finished third and fourth overall in 17:35 and 17:41, respectively, behind Jacksonville State’s freshman duo Mercy Jebet and Jepkirui Kurgoi. Sophomores Alexandra Walsh and Addison Boyer took seventh and tenth for the Tigers with times of 17:55 and 18:09, with senior Shelby Balding rounding out the scoring five in 11th with a time of 18:13.
Notably, freshman Kennedy Hamilton finished 12th in her debut in 18:16. Auburn’s women relied on a tight scoring spread, with just 38 seconds separating their first and fifth runners, in contrast to Jacksonville State’s spread of nearly two minutes. The tight spread bodes well for the team as it aims to build momentum into tougher SEC races.
Auburn now turns its focus to the Southern Showcase on September 12 in Huntsville, Alabama, hosted at John Hunt Cross Country Park. The Tigers will get their first taste of SEC competition with Alabama, Kentucky, and Mississippi State expected to toe the line. After finishing seventh in the men’s standings and eighth in the women’s at last year’s SEC Championships, Auburn will look to build on its strong start as it aims to climb the conference ranks this fall.
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Reid is a freshman majoring in pre-engineering. He started with The Plainsman in the fall of 2025.
