Mercer’s men's and women’s cross country teams competed in a pivotal race Friday morning at the NCAA D1 Cross Country South Regionals Cross in Tallahassee, Fla.
Both teams earned their regional places after strong showings at the Southern Conference Championships, where the women’s team placed fifth, and the men’s team finished sixth. Among the standouts at the SoCon Championship, Emma James ‘25 finished 19th with a personal best of 17:51.3, leading the women’s team. For the men, Jacob Peters ‘26 crossed the line in 25:20.6, placing 13th and also setting a personal best. The Bears finished fourth of four SoCon teams in the competition who ran in Tallahassee.
Friday's regional race marked new territory for both teams. For the women, it was their second 6k race of the season, while the men took on their first 10k. Both teams aimed to improve on last year’s finishes—21st for the women and 19th for the men. The results reflected strong efforts, with the women’s team finishing 26th, led by Nikki Harris ‘25, who placed 121st individually with a time of 22:25.3.
The men’s team secured 21st place, with Buck Ledford ‘26 as the team's top performer, placing 100th overall with a time of 32:35.1, finishing a little over three minutes after the race’s winner. The team finished second among three SoCon teams who competed in the race, edging the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga by 10 seconds in the team's average time.
