The University of Mississippi Athletics
Friday, November 14
Huntsville, Ala.
8:30 AM
Ole Miss
vs
NCAA South Regional
Men’s Cross Country Nabs Auto-Bid to National Meet at NCAA South Regional
11/14/2025 | Cross Country
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The Ole Miss men's cross country team bounced back in spectacular fashion, finishing second and earning a ticket to the national championship meet after finishing second at the 2025 NCAA South Regional on Friday morning.
Following a 10th-place showing at the SEC Championships two weeks ago, it was do-or-die for the Rebel men, who couldn't rely on an at-large spot and likely needed one of the top-two automatic qualifier spots to return to the NCAA Championships. With their backs against the wall, the Ole Miss men responded brilliantly, upsetting the 19th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs by two points, 75-77, to nab the second auto-bid behind No. 9 Alabama (37).
Ole Miss registered a scoring spread of just 1:17 and placed four runners within the top-25 for All-Region honors, helping push the Rebel men to their second consecutive NCAA team ticket. This is the 11th team qualifying berth in Ole Miss men's history, all within the last 12 years since first doing so in 2014.
For Ole Miss cross country coach Adam Smith, this is his third men's berth and fourth team bid overall since taking over the program in 2022.
"Just an awesome team effort out there for the men today to get the automatic qualifier," Smith said. "We knew it would come down to a few points between our matchup with Georgia for that spot, but felt confident with our guys on the line we would be able to win that battle."
Junior Kidus Misgina was again the low-stick for the Rebels, running a career-best cross country 10K of 29:20.44 for his first career All-Region honor, but it was senior Toby Gillen who gave Ole Miss a crucial one-two punch to stay ahead of Georgia.
Gillen, who has been a mainstay of the Rebel distance program both in cross country and on the track since the fall of 2023, bounced back in tremendous fashion from a tough conference meet, finishing right behind Misgina in sixth place at 29:29.36 for the third All-Region nod of his career.
Fellow seniors Evan Thornton-Sherman (13th, 29:51.93, PR) and Marco Perez (22nd, 30:13.17) played their parts brilliantly as well for the first All-Region honors of their careers, but it was sophomore Zack Gilbertson in 34th place who saved the auto-bid for Ole Miss at his career-best 10K of 30:37.27.
Freshmen John Shoemaker (50th, 30:58.64) and Owen Kelley (52nd, 30:59.01) also put together strong performances today in their first career 10Ks.
"Our backs were against a wall today, but our consistent low sticks of [Misgina] and Toby put us in a great spot getting ahead early, and Evan, Marco and Zack ran lights-out to close the door," Smith said. "Really, really proud of these guys today, and we will be ready to go next week in Missouri for the national championships."
On the women's side, a very young Ole Miss squad put together its best all-around performance of the season, with all seven Rebels clocking career-bests en route to an eighth-place finish. No. 3 Florida (52) won the regional title by 49 points ahead of Tennessee (101) for the auto-bids to NCAAs.
Ole Miss had an impressive average PR of 25 seconds on Friday, led by two historic All-Region performances by seniors Beth Arentz and Sophie Baumann in potentially their last cross country races as a Rebel.
Arentz was 12th at a 20-second 6K best of 19:47.10 and Baumann 14th at a 23-second improvement of 19:53.00, which made them the eighth and ninth women in recorded Ole Miss history to break the 20-minute barrier. Those times rank eighth and 10th, respectively, on the all-time Ole Miss women's 6K list.
This was the second career All-Region nod for Baumann and the first for Arentz, who are both now near the bubble for qualifying as an individual for the national meet.
Freshman Leah Penick wrapped up a superb freshman campaign with an 11-second PR in 43rd place at 20:30.76, and was followed by excellent races by sophomore Ella Johnson in 46th (20:34.68, 32-second PR), junior Adie Luna in 57th (20:49.07, 29-second PR), freshman Natalie Duggan in 68th (21:07.73, 44-second PR) and freshman Addy Mitchell in 96th (21:53.50, 17-second PR).
With the Ole Miss men's ticket to nationals secured, the Rebels will now await to hear whether Arentz or Baumann are admitted to NCAAs as individuals. The NCAA Selection Show will air on NCAA.com on Sat., Nov. 15 at 4 p.m. CT, and the 2025 NCAA Cross Country Championships are set for next Sat., Nov. 22 at Missouri.
Men's 10K Team Scores
1. #9 Alabama – 37*
2. Ole Miss – 75*
3. #19 Georgia – 77
4. Tennessee – 145
5. Lipscomb – 145
6. Middle Tennessee – 146
7. Florida – 160
8. North Florida – 257
9. Georgia Tech – 263
10. Florida State – 277
* = NCAA automatic qualifier
Men's Individual Results
5. Kidus Misgina – 29:20.44 – All-Region (1st career) – PR
6. Toby Gillen – 29:29.36 – All-Region (3rd career)
13. Evan Thornton-Sherman – 29:51.93 – All-Region (1st career) – 14-second PR
22. Marco Perez – 30:13.17 – All-Region (1st career)
34. Zack Gilbertson – 30:37.27 – PR
50. John Shoemaker – 30:58.64 – First 10K
52. Owen Kelley – 30:59.01 – First 10K
Women's 6K Team Scores
1. #3 Florida – 52*
2. (RV) Tennessee – 101*
3. #15 Alabama – 125
4. Mississippi State – 125
5. Vanderbilt – 152
6. Florida State – 157
7. Lipscomb – 169
8. Ole Miss – 170
9. Georgia Tech – 301
10. Kennesaw State – 368
18 others
* = NCAA automatic qualifier
Women's Individual Results
12. Beth Arentz – 19:47.10 – All-Region (1st career) – 20-second PR, No. 8 Ole Miss History
14. Sophie Baumann – 19:53.00 – All-Region (2nd career) – 23-second PR, T-No. 10 Ole Miss History
43. Leah Penick – 20:30.76 – 11-second PR
46. Ella Johnson – 20:34.68 – 32-second PR
57. Adie Luna – 20:49.07 – 29-second PR
68. Natalie Duggan – 21:07.73 – 44-second PR
96. Addy Mitchell – 21:23.50 – 17-second PR
Following a 10th-place showing at the SEC Championships two weeks ago, it was do-or-die for the Rebel men, who couldn't rely on an at-large spot and likely needed one of the top-two automatic qualifier spots to return to the NCAA Championships. With their backs against the wall, the Ole Miss men responded brilliantly, upsetting the 19th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs by two points, 75-77, to nab the second auto-bid behind No. 9 Alabama (37).
Ole Miss registered a scoring spread of just 1:17 and placed four runners within the top-25 for All-Region honors, helping push the Rebel men to their second consecutive NCAA team ticket. This is the 11th team qualifying berth in Ole Miss men's history, all within the last 12 years since first doing so in 2014.
For Ole Miss cross country coach Adam Smith, this is his third men's berth and fourth team bid overall since taking over the program in 2022.
"Just an awesome team effort out there for the men today to get the automatic qualifier," Smith said. "We knew it would come down to a few points between our matchup with Georgia for that spot, but felt confident with our guys on the line we would be able to win that battle."
Junior Kidus Misgina was again the low-stick for the Rebels, running a career-best cross country 10K of 29:20.44 for his first career All-Region honor, but it was senior Toby Gillen who gave Ole Miss a crucial one-two punch to stay ahead of Georgia.
Gillen, who has been a mainstay of the Rebel distance program both in cross country and on the track since the fall of 2023, bounced back in tremendous fashion from a tough conference meet, finishing right behind Misgina in sixth place at 29:29.36 for the third All-Region nod of his career.
Fellow seniors Evan Thornton-Sherman (13th, 29:51.93, PR) and Marco Perez (22nd, 30:13.17) played their parts brilliantly as well for the first All-Region honors of their careers, but it was sophomore Zack Gilbertson in 34th place who saved the auto-bid for Ole Miss at his career-best 10K of 30:37.27.
Freshmen John Shoemaker (50th, 30:58.64) and Owen Kelley (52nd, 30:59.01) also put together strong performances today in their first career 10Ks.
"Our backs were against a wall today, but our consistent low sticks of [Misgina] and Toby put us in a great spot getting ahead early, and Evan, Marco and Zack ran lights-out to close the door," Smith said. "Really, really proud of these guys today, and we will be ready to go next week in Missouri for the national championships."
On the women's side, a very young Ole Miss squad put together its best all-around performance of the season, with all seven Rebels clocking career-bests en route to an eighth-place finish. No. 3 Florida (52) won the regional title by 49 points ahead of Tennessee (101) for the auto-bids to NCAAs.
Ole Miss had an impressive average PR of 25 seconds on Friday, led by two historic All-Region performances by seniors Beth Arentz and Sophie Baumann in potentially their last cross country races as a Rebel.
Arentz was 12th at a 20-second 6K best of 19:47.10 and Baumann 14th at a 23-second improvement of 19:53.00, which made them the eighth and ninth women in recorded Ole Miss history to break the 20-minute barrier. Those times rank eighth and 10th, respectively, on the all-time Ole Miss women's 6K list.
This was the second career All-Region nod for Baumann and the first for Arentz, who are both now near the bubble for qualifying as an individual for the national meet.
Freshman Leah Penick wrapped up a superb freshman campaign with an 11-second PR in 43rd place at 20:30.76, and was followed by excellent races by sophomore Ella Johnson in 46th (20:34.68, 32-second PR), junior Adie Luna in 57th (20:49.07, 29-second PR), freshman Natalie Duggan in 68th (21:07.73, 44-second PR) and freshman Addy Mitchell in 96th (21:53.50, 17-second PR).
With the Ole Miss men's ticket to nationals secured, the Rebels will now await to hear whether Arentz or Baumann are admitted to NCAAs as individuals. The NCAA Selection Show will air on NCAA.com on Sat., Nov. 15 at 4 p.m. CT, and the 2025 NCAA Cross Country Championships are set for next Sat., Nov. 22 at Missouri.
Men's 10K Team Scores
1. #9 Alabama – 37*
2. Ole Miss – 75*
3. #19 Georgia – 77
4. Tennessee – 145
5. Lipscomb – 145
6. Middle Tennessee – 146
7. Florida – 160
8. North Florida – 257
9. Georgia Tech – 263
10. Florida State – 277
* = NCAA automatic qualifier
Men's Individual Results
5. Kidus Misgina – 29:20.44 – All-Region (1st career) – PR
6. Toby Gillen – 29:29.36 – All-Region (3rd career)
13. Evan Thornton-Sherman – 29:51.93 – All-Region (1st career) – 14-second PR
22. Marco Perez – 30:13.17 – All-Region (1st career)
34. Zack Gilbertson – 30:37.27 – PR
50. John Shoemaker – 30:58.64 – First 10K
52. Owen Kelley – 30:59.01 – First 10K
Women's 6K Team Scores
1. #3 Florida – 52*
2. (RV) Tennessee – 101*
3. #15 Alabama – 125
4. Mississippi State – 125
5. Vanderbilt – 152
6. Florida State – 157
7. Lipscomb – 169
8. Ole Miss – 170
9. Georgia Tech – 301
10. Kennesaw State – 368
18 others
* = NCAA automatic qualifier
Women's Individual Results
12. Beth Arentz – 19:47.10 – All-Region (1st career) – 20-second PR, No. 8 Ole Miss History
14. Sophie Baumann – 19:53.00 – All-Region (2nd career) – 23-second PR, T-No. 10 Ole Miss History
43. Leah Penick – 20:30.76 – 11-second PR
46. Ella Johnson – 20:34.68 – 32-second PR
57. Adie Luna – 20:49.07 – 29-second PR
68. Natalie Duggan – 21:07.73 – 44-second PR
96. Addy Mitchell – 21:23.50 – 17-second PR
Players Mentioned
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