Mountaineers Capture Second Place at Powerhouse Southern Showcase

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The App State men's and women's cross country teams continued their hot start to the 2026 season Friday. 

Led by Noah Martinson, the men finished second at the Southern Showcase, beating out the likes of Georgia Tech, Auburn and Clemson among the 29 teams in the field and finishing behind only No. 4 Alabama, a program that captured sixth place at last year's NCAA Cross Country Championships.

Martinson grabbed a ninth-place finish in the 8K with a time of 23:57.3, surpassing his previous best time by nearly 12 seconds. Following swiftly was Thomas Wlazlowski, who finished 16th (24:19.6), helping App State secure two top-20 finishers in the field of 302 runners.  

"The guys ran tough today," said men's distance coach Brad Herbster. "They fought hard the last 2K to secure second place. Noah did a really nice job competing with the front of the pack. Thomas had a nice 8K today, and him getting up there with Noah was really helpful."

Aidan Kneeland (24:40.5), Jackson Tuck (24:49.4) and Derek Waite (24.52.2) rounded out the top five Mountaineers. Tuck, a freshman, scored for the team in only his second appearance as a Mountaineer, while Waite scored for the first time this season and Kneeland for the second time in as many meets. All five athletes who scored finished in the top 40.  

"Jackson's first 8K was really good. Kneeland closed hard in his best 8K," Herbster added. "As a coach, I needed to do some things better to help prepare the guys. This race was the first time in a while. We had a solid performance in a large field, and we are looking forward to competing at home in two weeks."

Sophomore Ashby Williams ran a stellar 5K (18:18.2) to lead the pack of Mountaineer women. She was followed closely by Josie Jackson (18:23.8), Baylor Wolfe (18:27.3), Breanna Budzinski (18:30.9) and Tessa Massa (18:32.4). Their 15-second gap, an improvement of nearly 45 seconds from the previous meet, propelled the team to a 14th-place finish with all five runners finishing in the top 100 in a field of 309 runners and 31 teams.  

"The women competed well today. The front five, led by Ashby, had a very close spread of 15 seconds, and their ability to work together as a pack is quickly becoming a strength of this year's roster," women's distance coach Annie Richards said. "Another runner who stood out today was Bre, who moved up considerably throughout the race to help our team score. I'm looking forward to our next meet at home and future opportunities to keep working on our tactics." 

Up Next  

The Mountaineers will host the Fire Tower Project in two weeks on Friday, Oct. 2. The women's 6K will begin at 5:15 p.m., and the men's 8K will follow shortly after at 5:45 p.m.    

 Southern Showcase Standings  

Men's team standings 

1. Alabama - 15 

2. App State - 118 

3. Georgia Tech - 124 

4. Clemson - 169 

5. Cumberland - 194 

6. Jacksonville State - 212 

7. Auburn - 227 

8. Temple - 246 

9. Belmont - 267 

10. Arkansas State - 293 

11. Lee - 299 

12. Western Carolina - 377 

13. Auburn Montgomery - 440 

14. North Alabama - 450 

15. Mississippi College - 455  

16. UT Southern - 466 

17. Milligan - 475 

18. Tennessee Tech - 501 

19. Chattanooga - 511 

20. Mercer - 513  

21. ULM - 558 

22. Morehead State - 619 

23. CofC - 630 

24. South Alabama - 635 

25. Samford - 650 

26. West Georgia - 717  

27. Evansville -  730 

28. Ozarks - 754 

29. West Florida - 813 

Women's standings 

1. Alabama - 28 

2. Clemson - 69 

3. Auburn - 91 

4. Mercer - 151 

5. Mississippi State - 163 

6. UCF - 199 

7. Jacksonville State - 228 

8. Georgia Tech - 231 

9. Lee - 266 

10. Delaware - 281 

11. Belmont - 300 

12. Baylor - 348 

13. Tennessee Tech - 368 

14. App State - 453 

15. CofC - 509 

16. Samford - 546 

17. Arkansas State - 552 

18. ULM - 554 

19. Western Carolina - 612 

20. Chattanooga - 612 

21. Mississippi College - 619 

22. Milligan - 624 

23. Morehead State - 635 

24. Union - 713 

25. South Alabama - 721 

26. Christian Bros. - 726  

27. West Florida - 730 

28. Cumberland - 743 

29.  Evansville - 753 

30. Wallace State - 859 

31. North Alabama - 885 

Sport-specific giving allows you to directly support App State student-athletes and help provide them the resources they need to be successful. Click here to contribute to the Track and Field and Cross Country support fund.  

Keep up with App State Track and Field and Cross Country wherever you go by following the Mountaineers on social media. Follow @appstate_tf_xc on X and Instagram. Download the App State Athletics App for iOS or Android to keep the Mountaineers at your fingertips.