HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (September 11, 2025) – The University of North Alabama cross country teams will travel to Huntsville on Friday, Sept. 12, to compete in the Southern Showcase, hosted by Jacksonville State at John Hunt Park.
 
The men open the show at 7:30 a.m., followed by the women's race at 8:30 a.m.
 
This marks Jacksonville State's second hosted meet of the season, the first coming in Oxford, Ala. with the Foothills Invitational.
 
The course at John Hunt Park features a 10-meter-wide, manicured grass surface with multiple spurred loops. This course is located on the south side of the park and accommodates all teams from high school to USA Track & Field meets. There is also about two miles of walking trails for coaches and spectators to see the race.
 
A season ago, the Lions competed in this same race held by Jacksonville State. North Alabama competed in this event last season, finishing 13th on the men's side and 24th on the women's out of 47 teams.
 
Last year's meet featured more than 460 finishers in both the men's and women's races.
 
The Showcase was headlined by teams such as Alabama, Louisville, Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt, among others. Alabama took home the team crown for both the men's and women's race.
 
Last season there were over 50 teams for both the men and women. This season, the men see exactly 50 teams and the women see 54. UNA will race a lot of the same teams from last year such as Alabama, Belmont, Georgia Tech, Middle Tennessee, Miami and others.
 
This is the second meet of the season for the Lions. The team warmed up with their home meet, the UNA Invitational on Friday, Sept. 5. Both the men and women finished top-five in the race with the men taking a team crown.
 
After the UNA Invitational, the Lions swept the ASUN weekly awards. Brian Bett, Sandra Maiyo, Jack Gruber and Audrey Becker were recognized with ASUN Runner and Freshman of the Week awards for their respective divisions.
 
After back-to-back weekends with meets, the Lions will have a week before they travel to Columbia, Mo. to run in the Gans Creek Classic on Friday, Sept. 26.
 
For more information on the Southern Showcase hosted by Jacksonville State, click here.
 
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.