OXFORD, Ala. - The men's and women's cross country teams opened their 2025 seasons at the 19th annual Foothills Invitational hosted by Jacksonville State at Choccolocco Park. The season picked up where 2024 left off as the programs and athletes reached new heights, whether in team or personal records.
The men's team achieved its best finish percentage in program history by coming in tenth out of 20 teams. David Robles showed why he was named Faulkner's SSAC Newcomer of the Year candidate, as he broke the record for fastest time in program history. He finished with a time of 15:42.81 to come in 23rd place out of 175 runners, breaking the previous best time of 15:53 set by teammate Brodie Moore last fall in the Nooga at Night Invite.
The program's other JUCO transfer, Cole Charles, was the next closest finisher coming in at 75th with a 17:18.76, translating to the fourth-best 5K time and tying three of Carson Roberson's 2024 marks for the eighth-best all-distance pace in program history. Moore finished No. 88 with a 17:48.65 and Creed Spivey was close behind at No. 96 with a 17:57.78. Robles, Charles, Spivey and Lane Berry-Kilpatrick (20:41.25, No. 148) all finished with personal records.
The women's team finished in 14th out of 21 teams. Once again, the Lady Eagles were headed by Chloe Helms, who finished 38th out of 176 runners. She also made the second-best 5K time in program history behind her 18:27 finish at Nooga at Night last fall. Avery Rogers came in second for her team and 83rd overall with a 21:17.92, good for the ninth-best 5K individual time for a Lady Eagle. Sarah Lorimor (25:18.59, No. 144) earned a personal record as well.
"This was a great season opener for both our men's and women's teams," said new head coach Caleb Kilpatrick after his first meet leading the Eagle runners. "First of all, God gets the glory for everything. Each one of these athletes has a God-given gift, so it is important that we start with giving Him the credit. Whether we are breaking school records and getting personal best times like we did today, or we are given opportunities to learn and grow, God gets the glory. We will always orientate around that. Secondly, the team expressed their goals in writing at the beginning of the season and today they wholeheartedly ran towards those goals. I am blessed to be a part of this team and look forward to serving and helping them reach their full potential throughout the season. They represented themselves, Faulkner, and more importantly, God well today and as a coach, I could not ask for more."
The squads return to action on September 12 for the Hoka Nights of Thunder event at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Fla.
