Both Rebel Cross Country teams competed in the NCAA South Regional on Friday, Nov. 14 in Huntsville, Ala. The women’s team finished No. 8 in the six-kilometer race, and the men’s team finished No. 2 in the ten-kilometer race to extend their season.
A team win or runner-up finish was required to qualify for the national meet.
The Ole Miss Rebels competed in the NCAA Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 22 and finished No. 22 in the nation, just ahead of their No. 25 national rank. While conditions at the Gans Creek Course in Columbia, Mo., were not ideal, the Rebels proved once again that they are a national competitor.
South Regional
Men
After a No. 10 finish at the SEC Championships on Oct. 31, many teams and competitors turned their focus away from the Rebel threat. Headed into the meet, the regional rankings seeded the Rebels at No. 5, and they were left out of the national rankings altogether. However, head coach Adam Smith was never worried about rankings and did not let outside noise influence them.
“We just needed the guys to do their job and do it on the right day, and we finally did that,” Smith said in an interview with The Daily Mississippian. “We thought if we could match up well against Georgia, we could get the big Q (automatic qualifier) and that’s what we did.”
The Ole Miss men’s team got off to a hot start in the first kilometer of the race, and they maintained their place in the top five team standings over the next few splits.
At the conclusion of the race, the Rebel men pulled off a big upset over nationally-ranked No. 19 Georgia and finished No. 2 in the team standings to secure an automatic bid to nationals.
Kidus Misgina led the way for the Rebels with a career best time of 29:20.44 to place No. 5 individually and earn All-Region honors. Right behind Misgina was Toby Gillen, who finished No. 6 (29:29.36) to earn his third All-Region recognition.
Both Evan Thornton-Sherman (29:51.93) and Marco Perez (30:13.17) also earned All-Region honors with their No. 13 and No. 22 finishes, respectively. Zack Gilbertson secured the runner-up finish for the Rebels with his No. 34 run (30:37.27).
Alabama won the meet with 37 points, and Ole Miss’ 75 points just beat Georgia’s 77 points. The Bulldogs finished No. 3, but were able to secure an at-large bid to the championships when the extra qualifiers were announced on the Saturday, Nov. 15.
Coach Smith knows the next race will be difficult. Still, he hopes that the early season meets at the nationals course in Columbia, Mo., are going to pay off for his team.
“We’re going to enjoy this one. This is a lot better than knowing you’re sitting on the couch,” Smith said. “The whole reason we went to Missouri this year twice was to go there a third time, and so we know the course. … What we do all year gets us ready for 10K, and I hope that showed today.”
Women
In a fast women’s race that saw Alabama’s Doris Lemngole run 18:43.77 to break the previous course record, the Lady Rebels held their own but ultimately finished at No. 8 with 170 points and did not qualify for nationals as a team.
Though none of their additional runners qualified for the final meet either (through auto-bid or extra qualifiers), the Lady Rebels ran well in Huntsville. The John Hunt Course nickname of PR’Ville due to the high number of personal records set there held true; all seven Lady Rebels left with career bests in the six-kilometer race.
Beth Arentz (19:47.10) and Sophie Baumann (19:53.00) led the way with their No. 12 and No. 14 finishes, respectively. Leah Penick concluded her fantastic season with a No. 42 finish. Ella Johnson (No. 45) and Adie Luna (No. 56) rounded out the Top 5 scorers.
Florida won the team title with 52 points, Tennessee was runner-up with 101 points and Alabama was able to nab an at-large qualifier after their No. 3 finish with 125 points.
Despite the team falling short of nationals, Smith was proud of his athletes and the growth they have shown all year.
“We had some young girls in there, and it’s a learning experience,” Smith said. “There’s a lot of international athletes and older athletes. When you’re bringing in girls that are just coming out of high school, it’s a different ballgame.”
The standard for what it takes to succeed in SEC women’s competition, regionally and nationally is always rising. Smith aims to raise the bar for the Rebels, too.
“We need to have more results like the guys today and being in the mix to make the National Meet. That’s the standard of this program,” Smith said. “It was the best race of the year for (the Lady Rebels); it’s just unfortunate that this is a loaded region, this is a loaded conference.”
Full results from the NCAA South Region can be found here. Championship
The Ole Miss Rebels struggled early in the race, and got boxed into a tough position early on. A total of 261 runners came through the first split at the one kilometer mark, and the Rebels were No. 30 in the team standings. Due to the mud and slick course, it was difficult for the Rebels to move up in both the individual and team competitions.
Kidus Misgina, finished No. 46, just outside the top 40 finish required to win a medal and become an All-American. Even though Misgina consistently moved up throughout the race, he felt the course conditions held him back from reaching his full potential.
“It was really wet,” Misgina said in a post-race interview with The Daily Mississippian. “My right shoe was about to come off… it was tough to pass the (other) people.”
The Rebels improved in the team standings as the race progressed. At the conclusion of the ten-kilometer (6.2 mile) race the Rebels finished No. 22 in the field of 32 teams. Senior Toby Gillen finished No. 96 in his final cross country race as a Rebel in 29:34.0, just 23 seconds behind Misgina.
“I’m looking forward to being done, but it’s also bittersweet,” Gillen said in a post-race interview with The Daily Mississippian.
Toby Gillen echoed the same message that many other runners did: the race felt too crowded.
“A lot of the other races, you’re out in front, you know where to go, and you kind of know where to take the tangents,” Gillen said. “When you’re in that big pack you don’t know where you’re going.”
Senior Evan Thornton-Sherman finished No. 137, and fellow senior Marco Perez finished No. 187. Freshman Owen Kelley finished No. 200 to round out the Rebel scorers. Marco Perez spoke highly of his team in an interview with The Daily Mississippian.
“We ran really good as a team, a few improvements (could be made) here and there,” Perez said. “This team is going to the right place, it’s a step in the right direction for the outdoor season.”
Coach Adam Smith was proud of his runners and the work that they put in all season, especially in the championship weeks.
“This is a hard meet, for two 10Ks in eight days, that’s pretty hard,” Smith said. “We asked some people to do some hard things: the freshmen really stepped up this year and Hader (Misgina) and Toby have been great.”
There is no better place to end a season than at the national championships, and with the conclusion of the 2025 cross country season, Smith had some words of encouragement and gratitude for the Ole Miss Rebels fans.
“We’re going to keep going, this is all we know how to do. Every time we show up we’re going to try to make you guys proud,” Smith said. “I’m proud of these guys, they’ve had a really good season. (We) always want a little bit more, but we’re going to keep swinging.”
