Borden Unveils 2025 Cross Country Schedule
C-N Cross Country unveils the 2025 schedule with new and familiar courses for the season
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman head cross country coach Brent Borden has released the Eagles' 2025 slate of meets in an interview this morning.
The Eagles are set to compete in six regular-season meets scattered across the Southeast region, with a mix of familiar trails and several new venues.
C-N hits the ground running when the team travels to the Converse Kick-Off at Milliken Research Park in Spartanburg, S.C., on Friday, Sept. 5. The men's 6k will begin at 6:30 p.m., followed by the women's 5k at 7:00 p.m.
"We're looking forward to getting the ball rolling," said head coach Brent Borden. "I'm confident that everybody is going to be able to have good performances. We really look to progress as we get into the later meets moving into October… but these early marks give a good indication into where runners will be and how they stack up against fellow opponents in the SAC and Southeast region."
The following week, the Eagles travel to John Hunt Park in Huntsville, Ala., for the Southern Showcase on Friday, Sept. 12. The men's 8k kicks off at 7:30 a.m., followed by the women's 5k at 8:30 a.m.
"The meet I'm looking forward to the most is the Southern Showcase," Borden added. "As an athlete, I ran there a couple of years ago, and it's the biggest cross country meet I've ever competed in, with about 500 men in the race. It's a really good course and one of the best in this area of the country. This is a chance for the team to run against the big dawgs, with a handful of DI schools competing—so the team will gain experience running against the best of the best."
Carson-Newman heads to Greeneville, Tenn., for the first time this season on Saturday, Sept. 27, to compete at Tusculum University in the South Atlantic Conference Preview. Start times for this meet are TBA.
"Running the course once—once you learn the tangents—you know what it's going to feel like and how much it might suck if it's a hilly course," Borden noted. "This may be the first time we get to see Wingate, Catawba, or even LMU. So it'll be the first time we run against them and see how we stack up with opponents in the conference."
On Friday, Oct. 3, the Eagles head to Bouckaert Farm in Fairburn, Ga., for the Georgia Tech Invitational. The men's 8k is scheduled for an 8:30 a.m. start, followed by the women's 6k at 9:20 a.m.
After a short break, C-N wraps up the regular season back at Tusculum University for the South Atlantic Conference Championships on Saturday, Oct. 25. The men's 8k starts at 9:00 a.m., and the women's 6k follows at 10:00 a.m.
Postseason racing begins on Saturday, Nov. 8, at the NCAA DII Southeast Regional held at McAlpine Park in Charlotte, N.C. The women's 6k starts at 10:00 a.m., with the men's 10k following at 11:15 a.m.
After completing his first year at the helm of the C-N cross country program, Coach Borden reflected on the personal and professional growth he's experienced.
"Definitely a lot of growth," Borden said. "At this point last year, I was just getting hired here. During my first year of coaching, I've learned a lot—not only on the performance side, but what it actually takes to run and manage a program. From a leadership perspective, it's given me a lot of insight into how I go about my daily life and how I conduct practices. It's all about encouraging and guiding everybody through practice and leading the team at meets."
Carson-Newman cross country takes to the course for the first time in the 2025 season on Friday, Sept. 5, at the Converse Kick-Off in Spartanburg, S.C., beginning at 6:30 p.m.
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