NAIA XC/TF 2024-25

10k and 1500 both look fast this year on the men’s side

Luca Madeo Podcast!!!Pretty interesting to be honest, he talks about his journey to the University of the Cumberlands, how he started with running and more.

The Mid South Conference is in full panic mode. They are down to just 6 schools as full memebers and are actively recruiting anyone they can in their geographic region. I think that most of the schools could get picked up by another conference if the MSC folds with the exception of Cumberlands. No one will want them. Hope they like being Independent. There is also a lot of scuttlebutt from the NAIA convention about a push to heavily recruit NCAA schools with all the turmoil they are having. There is rumored to be 40+ D2 and/or D3 schools that are negotiating with the NAIA about becoming members. If the house lawsuit settlement get confirmed this month then expect some movement within and out of the NCAA. Could be some shocking moves from the NCAA.

What’s happened to St. Francis and Southern Oregon the last couple years?

SOU has missed nationals two years in a row on the men’s side and been disappointing on the women’s side.

St. Francis has looked terrible in track and hasn’t looked themselves in XC the last couple seasons either.

That last commissioner Eric ward ruined the numbers of mid-south schools. Just like he is hurting the WHAC now. With that said the six full members they have in mid south are strong in athletics. If it breaks up I don't know what conference any of them will join.

I think the River States and the Southern States are the best options but those conferences do not sponsor football so the could be an issue The other geographical option is the AAC but they alreay have too many schools and it hurts the team sports ability to get at-large bids because they play so many conference games. Some schools will probably have to go independent.

If Msc folds I would bet NAIA wouid tell conferences they have no choice but to accept them. Cumberlands geographically fits aac the others do not with travel distances

I dont think the NAIA has that kind of authority. The NAIA is very Conference focused (why they do have regional meets) and the presidents and Conference commissioners would never force a conference to take a school. The NAIA does not even enforce the sport rules. Institutions are responsible for self reporting violations.

Not sure what happened to the previous NAIA instagram page but it’s been dead with no content. I am interested in starting a collaborative page dedicated to NAIA xc and tf with multiple contributors, that way we can have insight into multiple conferences and have a better understanding of the NAIA landscape and be able to make well informed predictions. If you would like to be apart of this, DM me on instagram @tylerj004

naia aac conference is this week and Joshua Starr is running the steeplechase. He has been looking VERY good at practice lately. Can’t wait to see that man run a sub 9 steeple 😁

It was one of the greatest moments of my life when the Marian knights defeated the Cumberlands CLOWNS this indoor season at the Alachua County Sports & Events Center at Celebration Pointe
Gainesville, Florida. With the spirit of the late Kelvin Kiptum guiding us, me and my countrymen prepare once again to defeat BRADLEY SOWDER and his group of losers at outdoor nationals! We are ready to show Luca Madeo, Cole Bennet, and Youssef Asslouj what real athletes look like, and send them crying to Bradley Sowder and his pathetic offshoot James Overholser.

Everyone seems to be talking about the International threats from Cumberlands, but no one mentions the strong base of Americans that they've been building.

Coming off his brutal enlarged testicle injury, true freshman Maddox Knight has managed to cut his 800 meter PR to 1:56.1. Not much when you look at his international teammates in comparison, but the kid's getting somewhere.

They've also got their sophomore, Max Young dealing with enlarged testicles as we speak. Must be something in the water in those Cumberland mountains. Even dealing with these issues, he still managed to go 1:53 at indoor nationals.

Also random rumor from an anonymous source. Word on the street is that American Maddox Knight (fr.) and Kenyan Sharon Jemili (fr.) are getting married within the coming weeks, and plan to have a child together. Combining the perfect running genetics of Knight and Jemili, what could this mean for the future landscape of the NAIA?
- Note: serious replies only please. No trolls

BREAKING NEWS FROM AN ANONYMOUS SOURCE

Distinguished Cumberlands race walker, Cole Bennett, has reached prestige master In the new call of duty game in only six months, as well as hitting the A standard halfway through the season. As expected, this raised some serious questions about his time management and began an official investigation.

Between the time he spends doing triple threshold workouts, lifting weights, stretching, gooning, jelqing, and playing video games, NAIA officials have began to question if Cole truly is human. In order to have enough energy to complete all of these tasks within a 24 hour day, he must be enhanced with bionic capabilities.

NAIA officials, along with a few members of the federal Bureau of Investigation, raided his home yesterday. The results are shocking.

Upon the conclusion of a long and thorough investigation, the NAIA has made their final statement. Cole Bennett, Cumberlands race walker, is not human. The classified records shared with us from our men on the inside show that Cole Bennett has been physically enhanced with robotic machinery in multiple parts of his body. His calves, biceps, triceps, knees, quads and hamstrings have all been surgically replaced with variants of Wakandan Vibranium, the most valuable and strong element known to man. The vibranium was electrically wired to the rest of his body, making him 37 times stronger than the average race walker. In order for every other organ in his body to keep up with the vibranium - replaced ones, Bennett was required to drink three gallons of cookout sweet tea per day. His home was found filled with jugs of sweet tea, leading the FBI to make this discovery.

Upon finding this out, the president of the NAIA has placed the entire association on robot - watch. Any team discovered with a bionically enhanced athlete will be forced out of competition for one year minimum. As for Bennett, he has been taken into custody as the FBI investigate the situation further. We do not know if legal action can be taken as of now, but it is safe to assume that he will likely be permanently banned from competition in the NAIA.

Damn the females at Cumberlands are going to be very upset with Bennett gone. Ladies love a bad boy and we all know Cole is the bad boy of racewalk. I mean just look at his Mohawk gets me wet just thinking about it

best performance of the season so far ?

Elijah Wallace running 1:59 the day after running 2:00 was quite a feat while at the SLU Power festival and Billiken invite

Silva put on a show running a new NAIA record for the 25+ age bracket

Bro needs to stop getting A standards and start getting a JOB. Silvas been running in college since my balls dropped bruh.

Someone needs to put that creepy old man in a retirement home