Tulane Cross Country Teams Prepare for NCAA South Central Regional
The Tulane cross country teams will compete at the NCAA South Central Regional in Fayetteville, Arkansas, with the goal of earning a berth to the 2025 NCAA National Championships. The meet is hosted by the University of Arkansas at Agri Park and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Women’s 6K Lineup: Janae Dean, Petra Dos Santos, Allison Hall, Haley Harper, Blezzin Kimutai, Elena Liano-Rengel, Dorcas Naibei, Dana Rojas Vazquez, and Alex Sharp
Men’s 8K Lineup: Rogerio Amaral, Bernard Cheruiyot, Silas Kiptanui, Illia Kunin, Paul James Pam, Tommy Rice, Gilbert Rono, and Zach Van Houten
Tulane’s women are in starting box 10, while the men’s team is in starting box 12.
The regional championships help teams advance to the Division I cross country championships each year. The top two teams in each of the nine regional secure automatic bids to the championship. The first four regional finishers not from an automatic qualifying or at-large team also secure an auto-bid to the championships.
If a team doesn't secure an automatic bid, it will have to rely on the NCAA DI Cross Country Subcommittee to select it as one of the 13 at-large teams. Only two individual at-larges are selected, making a strong regional performance pivotal to advancing toward a national title.
Last Time Out for the Greenies
The Tulane women’s cross country team claimed the American Conference Championship for the second time in three years, winning the 6K race with 36 points. The men’s team finished as runner-up in the 8K with 41 points on Saturday, Nov. 1, at Frank Liske Park in Concord, North Carolina.
The women’s team delivered a dominant performance, placing four runners in the top 10 and all seven scoring members in the top 17, including five All-Conference selections. Blezzin Kimutai led the way, finishing as the runner-up in 20:16.3 (5:26.1 per mile) and earning her second All-Conference honor. Dorcas Naibei (4th, 20:36.0), Haley Harper (8th, 20:41.8), Petra Dos Santos (9th, 20:42.3), and Janae Dean (13th, 20:53.5) also earned All-Conference recognition. Alex Sharp narrowly missed the top 10, finishing 16th in 21:00.8, while Allison Hall was 17th in 21:02.5.
Tulane’s coaching staff—Adrian Myers, David Silversmith, and Wondu Summa—was named the American Conference Women’s Coaching Staff of the Year for their leadership in guiding the Green Wave women to the championship.
On the men’s side, Tulane showed strength across the board, with all seven scoring runners finishing among the top 21. Bernard Cheruiyot finished second in 23:25.6 (4:42.8 per mile) and earned his second All-Conference honor. Silas Kiptanui (4th, 23:38.8), Illia Kunin (7th, 23:52.3), Tommy Rice (13th, 24:03.0), Rogerio Amaral (15th, 24:12.8), Zach Van Houten (16th, 24:14.3), and Gilbert Rono (21st, 24:26.0) also contributed strong performances, with several earning All-Conference honors.
National and Regional Rankings
For the fourth consecutive week, Tulane’s men and women’s cross country teams were ranked nationally, according to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), released on November 4. The women’s team captured the American Conference title, highlighted by four top-10 finishes and five All-Conference honorees. The men’s team finished as conference runners-up, maintaining their impressive season.
Currently, Tulane’s men are ranked No. 23 nationally and the women No. 30. Both programs have held top-two regional rankings in the NCAA South Central Region for six straight weeks, underscoring Tulane’s rising prominence on the national stage.
Individual Accolades
Both teams have earned numerous individual honors this fall. Bernard Cheruiyot has received three weekly conference honors (September 2, September 30, October 21). Dorcas Naibei and Blezzin Kimutai have also been recognized on September 30 and October 21, respectively.
Upcoming Events
Depending on their regional performances, both teams will compete at the NCAA National Championships on November 22 in Columbia, Missouri, at Gans Creek Cross Country Course.
Doug has covered a gamut of sporting events in his fifty-plus years in the field. He started doing sideline reporting for Louisiana Tech football games for the student radio station. Doug was Sports Director for KNOE-AM/FM in Monroe in the mid-80s, winning numerous awards from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association for Best Sportscast and Best Play-by-Play. High school play-by-play for teams in Monroe, Natchitoches, New Orleans, and Thibodaux, LA dot his resume. He did college play-by-play for Northwestern State University in Natchitoches for nine years. Then, moving to the Crescent City, Doug did television PBP of Tulane games and even filled in for legendary Tulane broadcaster, Ken Berthelot in the only game Kenny ever missed while doing the Green Wave games. His father was an alumnus of Tulane in the 1940s, so Doug has attended Tulane football games in old Tulane Stadium, the Superdome, and Yulman. He was one of the 86,000 plus on December 1, 1973, sitting in the North End Zone to seeTulane shutout the LSU Tigers, 14-0. He was there when the Posse ruled Fogelman and in Turchin when the Wave made it to the World Series. He currently is the public address voice of the Tulane baseball team.