HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (September 17, 2026) – The University of North Alabama cross country teams will travel to Huntsville on Friday to compete in the third Southern Showcase, hosted by Jacksonville State at John Hunt Park.
The men open the meet at 7:30 a.m. with an 8K, and the women follow at 8:20 a.m. with a 5K.
This will be the second in-state meet hosted by Jacksonville State this season as the Gamecocks opened the year with a home meet, the Foothills Invitational.
The John Hunt Park course is a 10-meter-wide, manicured grass surface with many spurred loops. This course accommodates many other training and competition events throughout the year, including the NCAA, high school events and USA track and field events. There will be approximately two miles of walking trails that can be accessed by spectators and coaches during the race.
Last season, the Lions competed in the same race hosted by Jacksonville State. North Alabama finished 20th on the men's side and 34th on the women's side out of 52 teams. More than 940 runners ran at this meet for the men and women combined.
The Showcase will feature competition similar to the previous years and is expected to push the Lions against some of the top runners in the country.
This will be the second appearance of the season for the Lions. The team opened the year with the eighth annual UNA Invitational held on Sept. 5, where the Lions captured team titles for both the men and women's team.
Brian Bett won for the third consecutive year leading the men's program, while Sandra Maiyo placed second and is expected to lead the women's runners this year. Purple swarmed the finish line as nine of the first 10 runners for both teams ran for UNA. With the expanded roster spots this year, the Lions look to be racing more competitively as a group and look to continue that trend at this week's Southern Showcase.
After this meet, the Lions will not race again until Oct. 9, when they will compete at the Florida State Pre-Regionals held in Tallahassee, Fla.
For more information on the Southern Showcase including a course map, click here.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
