2025 NCAA Cross Country Championships
Oklahoma State won the men's overall championship with 61 points with New Mexico in second with 84 points and Iowa State in third at 122 points. (Photos by George Madison for A Mile. A Minute.)
Cross Country

Final Chase at the 2025 NCAA Cross Country Championships

November 22, 2025
Nearly every road, trail, path and patch of land in the collegiate cross country landscape led to Columbia, Missouri on Saturday as individual and team champions were decided at the 2025 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships.

Gans Creek Cross Country Course laid itself bare and silently challenged the best in the sport to surge for more than bragging rights before the unpredictable outdoors gives way to indoor track.

And the call was answered in the form of a heavily-contest men's 10k that saw New Mexico's Habtom Samuel emerge on top as Oklahom State grabbed the men's team championship, while Alabama's Doris Lemngole chose her moment to break away for the win in the women's 6k as NC State dominated for the women's team title.
2025 NCAA Cross Country Nationals
BYU’s Jane Hedengren (145) would play a pivotal part throughout the women’s race as she repeatedly held position at the front of the pack and would finish second in 18:38.9.
2025 NCAA Cross Country Nationals
Crowds gathered at multiple vantage points along the course hoping to get a glimpse of the point when both races would reach their turning points.
2025 NCAA Cross Country Nationals
Oklahoma State’s Billah Jepkirui (313) head steady in the hectic opening moments of the women’s race and finished in 19:51.9 in 85th place.
2025 NCAA Cross Country Nationals
The start of the women’s 6k was frantic but also an expected moment as the best teams in the nation set out to prove why they beat out dozens of other schools in last week’s regional rounds.
2025 NCAA Cross Country Nationals
Tia Wilson (178) finished in 22nd place in 19:07.2 and helped Florida place fifth overall with 225 points.
2025 NCAA Cross Country Nationals
Nelah Roberts (149) pushed the pace and would ultimately finish 41st in the women’s race in 19:22.9 and helped propel BYU to second overall with 130 points.
2025 NCAA Cross Country Nationals
Alabama’s Doris Lemngole (109) had plenty at stake in Saturday’s women’s race, with the chance to win back-to-back titles and assert herself as an emerging — and dominant — new force in the collegiate landscape.
2025 NCAA Cross Country Nationals
Late in the race, Alabama’s Doris Lemngole and BYU’s Jane Hedengren pushed from the pack in a sprint to decide who would claim the title. Lemngole would prevail.
2025 NCAA Cross Country Championships
The men’s race would shape up to be a grueling contest, with a massive group holding in place through 8k in a test of nerves, grit and pure tactic.
2025 NCAA Cross Country Championships
From the start, the men’s group wasted little time establishing position as teammates relied on one another to be propelled step by step.
2025 NCAA Cross Country Championships
Oklahoma’s Evans Biwott (749) lost a shoe but continued as he held a slight edge past Syracuse’s Peter Walsdorf (823).
2025 NCAA Cross Country Championships
The lead group in the men’s race contained no less that 30 competitors who were all in the mix through 5k.
2025 NCAA Cross Country Championships
Grass, dirt, mud and sweat were just some of the souvenirs collected along the way in both races.
2025 NCAA Cross Country Championships
New Mexico’s Habtom Samuel (713) pulled away from the pack in the men’s race around the 9k mark and bolted to a 28:33.9 win — and an emphatic celebration.
2025 NCAA Cross Country Championships
Oklahoma State’s Laban Kipkemboi (762) fought to stay upright as the final kick meant a few deciding points hung in the balance of where the most competitive teams would land on the podium. Oklahoma State would win dominate and win the men’s title.
2025 NCAA Cross Country Championships
Far more than sweat was left out on the course as the raw reality of the sport can barely be hidden behinds trees, tall grass or inside of a team’s tent.
2025 NCAA Cross Country Championships
In what would be the final collegiate cross country test for many at Saturday’s championships, every drop of energy was spent for the sake of the team point tally.
2025 NCAA Cross Country Championships
Syracuse’s Peter Walsdorf (823) let out a roar in celebration after he finished in 37th place in 29:03.9 in the men’s race with a performance that was crucial as it helped his team to a fourth place finish with 212 points.
2025 NCAA Cross Country Championships
Alabama’s Doris Lemngole basked in her 18:25.4 performance in the women’s race and second straight title.
2025 NCAA Cross Country Championships
NC State celebrated winning the women’s team title — their fourth in five years — with 114 points as BYU came in second at 130 points and Oregon took third with 153 points.

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