NASHVILLE – The Trevecca Nazarene University men's cross country team finished second, while the Trojan women placed third Saturday at the 2026 Michael Pretorius Invitational at Andrew Jackson's The Hermitage Cross Country Course.
The event was the first collegiate cross-country meet held at The Hermitage and included the first 8,000-meter race contested on the property.
MEET ESSENTIALS: MICHAEL PRETORIUS INVITATIONAL
Hosted by Trevecca Nazarene University
Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026
Andrew Jackson's The Hermitage Cross Country Course | Nashville, Tennessee
Men's 8K: Five Teams / 36 Individuals
Women's 5K: Four Teams / 32 Individuals
Junior Joshua Novotny led the Trevecca men with a fifth-place (of 36) finish in 25:18.47. His time is the eighth-fastest 8K performance in program history and the second-fastest of his career.
Senior Ashley Alsvig led the Trevecca women, finishing 11th (of 32) overall in 19:24.68. Alsvig established a new career-best 5K time, moved to No. 21 on Trevecca's all-time 5K performance list and became the 10th-fastest 5K runner in program history.
The Lipscomb men won the five-team competition with 19 points after placing their first four runners in the top four. Trevecca finished second with 52 points, two points ahead of Austin Peay.
At the second timing mat, Trevecca and Austin Peay were tied with 55 points. The Trojans gained the needed positions during the closing portion of the race to secure second place.
Jack Jaeger moved from 10th at the second timing mat to eighth at the finish, completing the course in 26:23.05. Jaeger improved his time from the Southern Showcase by two minutes, 31.85 seconds and finished 9.75 seconds behind his career best.
Caden Meeks advanced from 14th at the second mat to 10th at the finish. His time of 26:40.46 represented an improvement of two minutes, 29.44 seconds from the season opener and was 8.96 seconds behind his career best.
John Dalton moved from 15th to 14th during the closing portion of the race and finished in 26:50.94. Dalton improved by one minute, 56.56 seconds from the Southern Showcase and finished just 1.74 seconds behind his career-best 8K time.
Joel White gained one position after the second mat and completed Trevecca's scoring five by finishing 15th in 27:04.79. White improved by two minutes, 14.91 seconds from the opener and established a new career best by 8.11 seconds.
Caleb Hinson placed 16th in 27:14.92, improving by 22.88 seconds from the Southern Showcase. Garrett Wilson finished 20th in 28:19.46, cutting two minutes, 52.14 seconds from his opening-meet time.
Novotny improved by one minute, 33.33 seconds from his 26:51.8 at the Southern Showcase. His time Saturday was 12.67 seconds behind his career-best 25:06.8, which ranks fourth on Trevecca's all-time performance list and makes him the second-fastest 8K runner in program history.
Lipscomb completed the men's team victory with 19 points. Trevecca followed with 52, Austin Peay scored 54, Tennessee State finished with 103 and Fisk recorded 145.
The Lipscomb women swept the first five scoring positions and won with the minimum score of 15 points. Austin Peay finished second with 59, followed by Trevecca with 68 and Tennessee State with 114.
Alsvig improved by one minute, 0.92 seconds from her Southern Showcase time of 20:25.6. She also lowered her previous career best of 19:58.6 by 33.92 seconds.
Junior Sarah Arnold followed Alsvig, finishing 13th overall and scoring 11 team points with a time of 19:41.25. Arnold improved by 49.85 seconds from her 20:31.1 at the Southern Showcase.
Freshman Kate Brent placed 14th overall and scored 12 points with a time of 19:52.69. Brent lowered the first collegiate 5K time of her career by 59.31 seconds.
Freshman Sarah Penney finished 18th overall and scored 16 points in 20:27.77. Penney improved the first collegiate 5K time of her career by one minute, 1.03 seconds.
Madeline Patton completed Trevecca's scoring five, finishing 22nd overall and scoring 20 points with a time of 22:12.48. Patton improved by one minute, 42.32 seconds from the Southern Showcase.
Sophia Garcia finished 25th overall in 24:06.23, while Hailey Carmichael crossed the line 27th in 26:18.43.
The meet honors former Trevecca cross country and track and field runner Michael Pretorius, who died July 31, 2022, following his second battle with cancer.
The Michael Pretorius Award, created in 2016 by Trevecca Director of Athletics Mark Elliott, is the athletic department's most prestigious annual honor. The award recognizes selfless courage, moral conviction and principled faith in a Christ-like response to adversity. Pretorius was the inaugural recipient.
The event also provided Trevecca with its first competition on the course that will host the 2026 Gulf South Conference Championships on Friday, Nov. 6.
MEN'S 8,000 METERS
MEN'S TEAM RESULTS
|
PLACE
|
TEAM
|
POINTS
|
|
1
|
Lipscomb
|
19
|
|
2
|
Trevecca Nazarene
|
52
|
|
3
|
Austin Peay
|
54
|
|
4
|
Tennessee State
|
103
|
|
5
|
Fisk
|
145
|
WOMEN'S 5,000 METERS
WOMEN'S TEAM RESULTS
|
PLACE
|
TEAM
|
POINTS
|
|
1
|
Lipscomb
|
15
|
|
2
|
Austin Peay
|
59
|
|
3
|
Trevecca Nazarene
|
68
|
|
4
|
Tennessee State
|
114
|
MORE TROJAN NOTES
Novotny recorded the eighth-fastest 8K performance in Trevecca history.
Novotny owns two of the eight fastest 8K performances in program history.
Alsvig recorded the No. 21 performance on Trevecca's all-time 5K list.
Alsvig became the 10th-fastest women's 5K runner in program history.
White established a new career-best 8K time.
Brent and Penney established career-best collegiate 5K times in their second college races.
All seven Trevecca men improved from the Southern Showcase.
Trevecca's five returning women from the Southern Showcase each improved by at least 49 seconds.
The Trevecca men and Austin Peay were tied with 55 points at the second timing mat.
Jaeger and Meeks combined to gain six positions during the closing portion of the men's race.
The Trevecca men finished strong and secured second place by two points over Austin Peay.
The meet was the first collegiate cross country competition held at The Hermitage.
The men's race was the first 8K held at The Hermitage.
UP NEXT: UAH FESTIVAL
Trevecca returns to competition Saturday, Oct. 24, at the UAH Festival in Huntsville, Alabama.
The Trojans return to Andrew Jackson's The Hermitage Cross Country Course on Friday, Nov. 6, when Trevecca hosts the Gulf South Conference Championships.
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