GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University men's and women's cross country teams will open their 2025 season on Friday, September 12 at Roane State in Harriman, Tennessee.
The meet will be the first of four regular-season meets for the Pioneers, which includes hosting the South Atlantic Conference Preview at Kinser Park in Greene County on Saturday, September 27. Tusculum is the host school for the SAC Championship, which will also be run at Kinser Park on Saturday, October 25.
Second-year head coach Alaric Gwynn has a retooled roster for the 2025 season, with six of the nine men's runners and all seven of the women's runners joining the program for the first time this fall.
MEN'S PREVIEW
Returning for the Pioneers are senior Jerry Ricker (Kingsport, Tenn.) along with junior Simon Ray (Greeneville, Tenn.) and sophomore Levi Carson (Hammond, La.).
Ricker did not run last fall, but has twice competed at the SAC Championship with a best finish of 64th as a freshman in 2022. Ray was team Most Valuable Runner last season after taking 55th place at the SAC Championship, while Carson placed 71st overall at the conference meet as a freshman.
Joining the program are juniors Nathan Buckeridge (Haywards Heath, England) and Tomas Ribeiro (Colares, Portugal) along with freshmen Harvey Anderson (Beaconsfield, Australia), Casen Davis (Johnson City, Tenn.), Coen Morgan (Chisholm, Australia) and Albert Ziegler (Sollentuna, Sweden).
Of the newcomers, Buckeridge ran two years for Texas Wesleyan, earning a 56th-place finish at the Sooner Athletic Conference championship as a freshman.
WOMEN'S PREVIEW
Junior Jesica Mbhamali (Johannesburg, South Africa) joined the Tusculum track program in the spring after running two years of cross country at Butler Community College. At Butler, Mbhamali was 44th at the NJCAA Division I Championship in 2024 after placing 10th in the Region VI Championship meet.
Senior Maya White Eagle (Baraboo, Wisconsin) has two years of collegiate cross country experience, running at Goldey-Beacom in 2024 after competing for Garden City Community College in 2023. White Eagle was 49th at the NJCAA Region VI Championship during the 2023 season.
The five freshmen for the Pioneers are Abby Counter (Richmond, Texas), Tristen Douthat (Greeneville, Tenn.), Ruby Groves (Spring Hill, Tenn.), Hannah McLain (Limestone, Tenn.) and Skyler Shinn (Chattanooga, Tenn.). McLain ran for David Crockett High School and placed eighth at the 2023 TSSAA Class A-AA state meet.
