BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Birmingham-Southern men's cross country team hopes to make a big splash at the SAA Cross Country Championships this Saturday in Louisville. Coming off five personal best times, the Panthers hope to carry their momentum into the SAA meet.

The men's cross country team finished fifth in the SAA Championships last season in Hoover. Four of the six runners for the Panthers are returning to the conference meet for the second time. Last season, the four freshman, Noah Arrington, Hunter Siddle, Jack Rodgers, and Pyunn Ntwari, got their first experience competing against the other schools in the SAA. This season, they hope to improve on their times with a year of experience under their belts and with the addition of two freshman Samuel Holloway and Wyatt Jones. SAA Men's Cross Country Championship Central

2023 Regular Season Highlights
The Panthers opened their regular season in Rome, Ga. to start the season. Hunter Siddle, Wyatt Jones, and Pyunn Ntwari got their 2023 season debuts under their belts. The team then traveled to Montevallo, Ala. where they placed 9th out of 20 total teams including many Division II schools like UAH and Montevallo. Hunter Siddle led his team with a time of 28:20.05, and Noah Arrington was just behind his teammate with 28:20.88. The next meet at Huntingdon, 'Southern had a fully healthy roster for the first time this season and had a very impressive second place finish only behind Division I program Troy University. Noah Arrington led the Panthers with a 28:11.64 and finished seventh overall while freshman Wyatt Jones finished second on the team with a personal best time of 28:46.82.

In the final meet of the regular season, the team traveled to Clinton, Miss. where they once again finished in the top half of all teams. The 11th place out of 25 teams finish was headlined by five runners having their personal best times. Noah Arrington led his team again with an outstanding 26:56.30, but Hunter Siddle, Jack Rodgers, Pyunn Ntwari, and Sam Holloway reached their personal best times as well. 

Build on Momentum
'Southern will feel good about the position they are in heading into the conference meet with improvement each week as a team. Despite being a young team with no upperclassmen, the men's team will look to use their experience they gained last season in their 5th place finish. Five of six runners earned personal best times a couple weeks ago, but the Panthers will be pushing to make it six for six this Saturday in Kentucky.

Meet Details
Saturday, Oct. 28
Men's 8K Race
Start at 10:00 a.m. EST
Louisville, Ky.
E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park