HBCUAC Champion Men's Cross Country closes 2025 at NAIA Championship

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference champion Wiley University men's cross country completed the 2025 season by making its second National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Men's Cross Country National Championship appearance on Friday at Apalachee Regional Park, one of 37 teams that ran in the 2025 NAIA Men's Cross Country National Championship.

John Russell Jr., who hadn't run since September 12, led the Wildcats with a time of 30:29.7 in the eight-kilometer race. Dwight Bennett Jr. followed at 30:54.8. All-HBCUAC athlete Earl Hurd Jr. ran 31:33.7. Four-time All-HBCUAC athlete Javoun Goldsby followed at 32:00.9. Jaylon Donson rounded out the Wildcats' results (33:56.4).

The race was the last for Goldsby and Ameariun Harper, who earned All-HBCUAC in 2024. Both athletes will compete this winter and spring in the indoor and outdoor track and field seasons. Freshmen Hurd, Bennett and Ryan Jackson who all won HBCUAC Weekly Awards will look to lead the team to another HBCUAC title next fall. Head coach Christopher McConnell will look to recruit strong runners to strengthen the roster for a better showing on the national stage in 2026.