NASHVILLE – Trevecca Nazarene University welcomes the Gulf South Conference to Nashville on Friday, Nov. 6, hosting the 2026 GSC Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships at Andrew Jackson's The Hermitage Cross Country Course.

The championship marks the first time Trevecca has hosted the conference meet and brings some of NCAA Division II's top South Region programs to the historic property. The men's 8,000-meter championship begins at 8 a.m. CT, followed by the women's 6,000-meter championship at 8:45 a.m. CT.

The Trojans enter the postseason having already competed on the championship course. Trevecca hosted the Michael Pretorius Invitational on Sept. 26, the first collegiate cross country meet held at The Hermitage and the first collegiate 8K contested on the property.

Both Trevecca teams are competing in their first season under Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Joe Frye and head cross country coach Kate Bucknam. The Trojans are looking to improve on their 2025 GSC finishes, when the women placed seventh and the men finished 10th.

The championships are part of Trevecca's 125th anniversary Homecoming week, bringing the conference's runners, coaches and supporters to Nashville for a postseason event in the Music City.

MEET ESSENTIALS | 2026 GSC CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS

DETAIL	INFORMATION
Host	Trevecca Nazarene University
Date	Friday, Nov. 6, 2026
Course	Andrew Jackson's The Hermitage Cross Country Course
Location	4580 Rachel's Lane,   Hermitage, TN 37076
Men's 8K	8 a.m. CT
Women's 6K	8:45 a.m. CT
Defending team champions	Men: Lee | Women: Mississippi Christian
Coverage	GSC FloCollege Channel | GSC Championship Central

THE HERMITAGE | A HISTORIC CHAMPIONSHIP SETTING

The Hermitage, the former home of President Andrew Jackson, is a 1,120-acre National Historic Landmark featuring open fields, wooded areas and historic landscapes. The cross country course takes advantage of the property's natural terrain, offering a relatively flat layout with several rolling sections and an uphill approach to the finish.

The course provides opportunities for spectators to see runners at multiple points during the races. Its layout also allows coaches to monitor their athletes throughout the competition, with intermediate timing splits available. Although new to collegiate competition in September, the course previously hosted high school meets and regional championship events.

The September Michael Pretorius Invitational served as a test of the course for Trevecca. The Trojan men finished second with 52 points, two ahead of NCAA Division I Austin Peay, while the women finished third with 68 points behind Division I programs Lipscomb and Austin Peay.

The annual Michael Pretorius Invitational honors the former Trevecca cross country and track and field runner, who died July 31, 2022, following his second battle with cancer. Trevecca established the Michael Pretorius Courage Award in 2016, naming Pretorius its first recipient. The honor recognizes selfless courage, moral conviction and principled faith demonstrated through a Christ-like response to adversity.

TREVECCA MEN | NOVOTNY LEADS TROJANS BACK TO HOME COURSE

Junior Joshua Novotny has been Trevecca's leading finisher in each of the Trojans' first three competitions this fall. He ran 25:18.47 at the Michael Pretorius Invitational, finishing fifth overall, earning GSC Runner of the Week honors and recording the eighth-fastest 8K performance in school history. His career best of 25:06.8, set at the 2025 GSC Championships, ranks fourth on Trevecca's all-time performance list.

Caleb Hinson enters the championship after running a season-best 26:16.9 at the Oct. 24 UAH Chargers Invitational, while Jack Jaeger and Caden Meeks both finished among the top 10 at Pretorius. Joel White, John Dalton and Garrett Wilson have provided additional pack depth as the Trojans prepare to race on familiar ground.
 

RUNNER	2026 8K TIME	MEET
Joshua Novotny	25:18.47	Pretorius
Caleb Hinson	26:16.9	UAH
Jack Jaeger	26:23.05	Pretorius
Caden Meeks	26:40.46	Pretorius
John Dalton	26:50.94	Pretorius
Joel White	27:04.79	Pretorius

Selected 2026 8K performances; times from different courses are not directly equivalent.

TREVECCA WOMEN | ALSVIG, ARNOLD AND FRESHMEN SET THE PACE

Senior Ashley Alsvig has led the Trojan women in all three of their full-team races this season. She ran a career-best 19:24.68 for 5K at Pretorius to become the 10th-fastest runner in program history at that distance and earn GSC Runner of the Week honors.

Junior Sarah Arnold followed with a 19:41.25 at The Hermitage, while freshman Kate Brent crossed in 19:52.69 to earn GSC Freshman of the Week honors. Another freshman, Sarah Penney, improved her 6K personal best to 24:51.6 at UAH on Oct. 24, where Arnold lowered her own career best to 23:44.3. Seniors Maddy Patton and Hailey Carmichael, along with the rest of the Trojan squad, give Trevecca experience around its young group as it looks to build on last year's seventh-place conference finish and 11th-place NCAA South Region finish.
 

RUNNER	PRETORIUS 5K	CAREER-BEST 6K
Ashley Alsvig	19:24.68	23:31.7
Sarah Arnold	19:41.25	23:44.3
Kate Brent	19:52.69	25:22.4
Sarah Penney	20:27.77	24:51.6
Maddy Patton	22:12.48	24:26.9

5K and 6K marks are different race distances; the championship is a 6K.

MEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP | LEE SETS THE STANDARD

Four-time defending champion Lee arrives as the team to beat. The Flames won the 2025 GSC title with 21 points, then claimed the NCAA South Region crown and finished 10th nationally. Ranked No. 6 nationally entering the Oct. 24 UAH Chargers Invitational, Lee won that meet with 26 points and a school-record 23:46 five-man average, taking four of the top seven individual places and five of the top 13.

Stephen Clark won the UAH race in 23:28.47, edging teammate Tucker Wright (23:28.98). Pierre Chauveau, the runner-up at the 2025 GSC Championships, was fourth at UAH in 23:43.33. Freshman Kylian Boulanger was seventh in 23:58.02, giving Lee four clear contenders near the front.

UAH, the 2025 runner-up, brings a closely matched lead group featuring Dakota Frank (24:48.8 at UAH), Conner Patterson (24:49.9) and Cole Robinson (24:55.9). Auburn Montgomery placed seventh in the 40-team UAH meet, ahead of Mississippi Christian and UAH, and figures in the pursuit behind Lee. Mississippi Christian was third at the 2025 conference meet, while Union enters with momentum from winning the Oct. 16 Watson Classic, led by Aaron Fynaardt and freshman Jonathan Lewis.

Fynaardt, an All-GSC runner a year ago, has been among the conference's leading individuals this fall, finishing second overall at the Watson Classic. Mississippi Christian's Baxter Friedman and Matthew Singletary and AUM's Caleb Yoder are additional runners to watch as teams battle for positions throughout the scoring five.

WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP | LEE, MISSISSIPPI CHRISTIAN LEAD DEEP FIELD

Mississippi Christian returns as the defending champion after winning its first GSC women's cross country title in 2025 with 43 points, eight ahead of Lee. The Choctaws are led this season by returning all-conference performers Catherine Wallace, Audrey Mayatte and Kinley Harris. Mississippi Christian placed 13th at the Oct. 24 UAH Invitational, with Wallace running 21:55.2 over 6K.

Lee, the preseason favorite, is pushing to reclaim the title after its streak of eight straight conference championships ended last fall. The Lady Flames were third among 38 teams at UAH on Oct. 24, scoring 110 points, with sophomore Ava Sparks taking second overall in 20:45.5. Sadie Wielfaert, Capucine Cureau and Katie Beam add depth to Lee's scoring group.

UAH enters after placing third at the 2025 conference meet. Lindsey Barnes led the Chargers at their home invitational in 22:06.2, followed by freshman Rose Betts (22:25.5) and Tamsyn Gibbs (22:36.7). Union also has a strong front pair in Addi Aguayo and Victoria Markham, who finished first and second at the Oct. 16 Watson Classic, with Aguayo recording 21:23.9.

The individual race features another major contender in Christian Brothers freshman Eleni Stemmildt. She won the Oct. 24 UAH Chargers Invitational in 20:36.6, defeating Lee's Sparks and the rest of the 373-runner field. Her performance sets up a compelling individual competition with Sparks, Aguayo and the conference's other returning All-GSC runners.

WATCH LIVE | GSC FLOCOLLEGE CHANNEL

The championships will be broadcast live on the Gulf South Conference FloCollege Channel, with Gregory Ruff and Caroline Hampton Cole providing commentary. Ruff is in his 29th year at Trevecca, while Cole returns to a familiar sport as a former Trojan standout and NCAA national championships competitor.

Cole became Trevecca's first student-athlete to qualify for an NCAA Division II national championship when she advanced to the 2015 cross country championships. She later competed in the 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials after qualifying with a time of 2:36:09 at the 2023 Grandma's Marathon.

Championship Central: 2026 GSC Cross Country Championships

Watch Live: GSC FloCollege Championship Broadcast

POSTSEASON CONTINUES | NCAA SOUTH REGION

The GSC Championships begin the postseason for the conference's cross country programs. Teams and individuals will compete again Saturday, Nov. 21, at the NCAA Division II South Region Championships at John Hunt Cross Country Park in Huntsville, Alabama. The NCAA Division II National Championships are scheduled for Friday, Dec. 4, in Lawrence, Kansas.

2026 GSC PRESEASON COACHES POLLS

RANK	MEN	POINTS	WOMEN	POINTS
1	Lee Univ. (9)	81	Lee Univ. (8)	98
2	UAH (1)	72	Mississippi Christian (3)	91
3	Mississippi Christian	63	UAH	84
4	AUM	59	Union Univ.	71
5	Union Univ.	44	Trevecca Nazarene	60
6	Univ. of Montevallo	34	AUM	58
7	Christian Brothers	33	Christian Brothers	44
8	West Alabama	32	Univ. of Montevallo	42
9	Trevecca Nazarene	20	West Alabama	27
10	Valdosta State	12	Valdosta State	19
11	—	—	Delta State	11

The polls reflect the GSC coaches' preseason selections. First-place votes appear in parentheses following the team name. Trevecca's women were picked fifth and the men ninth.