LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Bellarmine University cross county is set to compete in its sixth ASUN Championship and first under Director of XC/TF Emma Petersen as the Knights squads will toe the starting line Friday morning at Cecil Field in Jacksonville, Florida.

The 5k women's race leads off the event at 8:15 a.m. (ET), while the 8k men's race follows at 9 a.m. This is the second consecutive season the ASUN meet has been held at Cecil Field.

Both Bellarmine squads finished in the top half of the conference last season. The BU men placed fourth of 12 for the second straight year — and fourth in a row in the upper half — while the Knights women placed sixth of 12.

Sierra Oesterling had a groundbreaking performance last season for the women, becoming the first runner in program history to garner All-ASUN accolades after placing a program-record 20th at the meet. The senior owns seven of the program's top 50 5k times.

Alex Hooten wasn't far off from All-ASUN status last season after placing 26th in the men's race. The redshirt junior followed that up in the 2025 regular season by recording three straight all-time top 11 outputs in the 8k.

Bellarmine competed against a full field in three regular-season meets this season. The Knights will follow the ASUN Championship with their second-ever appearance in the NCAA I Southeast Regional Championship, which takes place Nov. 14 at Panorama Farms in Earlysville, Virginia.

The Lipscomb women and the Eastern Kentucky men are both three-time defending ASUN champions.

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