BOONE, N.C. – The App State men's and women's cross country teams look to stay on top of the podium as the men for their fourth consecutive Sun Belt Championship and the women look for a third straight when they compete this Friday in Foley, Ala.
The men's 8K will start the day off at 9:30 a.m. ET (8:30 a.m. CT), followed shortly after by the women's 5K at 10:15 a.m. ET (9:15 a.m. CT).
It has been a phenomenal year for junior Noah Martinson and the App State men. The Carrollton, Ga., native has earned three Sun Belt Cross Country Runner of the Week honors in back-to-back-to-back meets. It began with his performance at the Southern Showcase, where he earned a ninth-place finish and propelled App State to a second-place team result, beating out the likes of Georgia Tech, Auburn and Clemson, while finishing behind only No.4 Alabama. Two weeks later, he earned the honors again with his performance at the Fire Tower Project, where his time of 24.21.5 led him to another ninth-place individual result and a team finish of third.
Martinson capped off his regular season with a historic performance at the Arturo Barrios Invitational. He broke the school's 8K record by nearly 30 seconds, setting the new record at 23:17.4 and earning his third Sun Belt Cross Country Runner of the Week honor. His performance led App State to another second-place finish, ahead of such programs as Texas A&M, Arizona State, Ohio State, TCU, Texas, Houston, LSU and Baylor.
Coached by Brad Herbster, the men enter the conference meet with a 77-4 overall record against other teams, including an outstanding 12-1 mark against "Power Four" opponents.
The Mountaineer women made progressions meet in and meet out. Led by Josie Jackson, they had their best performance of the year at the Arturo Barrios Invitational, where they beat their season-average times by nearly a minute. Jackson's time of 21.12.2 in the 6K moved her to sixth in school history, improving her personal best by over a minute.
Newcomer Baylor Wolfe has had a major impact on the team. The Kentucky transfer has finished top three in three of the four meets this year, placing sixth in the other. Her season-best time of 21.34.4 in the 6K is just outside the App State top 10 by mere seconds.
It has been a total team effort throughout the season for the App State women, coached by Annie Richards. They have held an average spread of just 33 seconds between their top five runners per race and will look to run as a cohesive unit on their way to a third straight SBC Championship.
Last Year at SBC Championships
The 2025 meet saw the App State men win their third straight league title and the women capture their second straight.
The women won with a team score of 77, which was 11 points better than second place. The Mountaineers did not have a single runner finish in the top 10, but all finished in the top 20.
All five men's scorers finished in the top 10 to earn 32 team points. That was 51 points better than second place.
Both teams will send three runners from their respective top-five finishers of last year - Henry Stark, Noah Martinson and Thomas Wlazlowski on the men's side and Josie Jackson, Tessa Massa and Breanna Budzinski on the women's side.
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