Talladega College takes 2025 HBCUAC Women's Cross Country Championship in Dominating Fashion
DANVILLE, Ala. - The Talladega College women's cross country had all five runners finish in the top 10, as it captured the 2025 Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference Women's Cross Country Championship on Friday at Oakville Indian Mounds Education Center.
Jewel Cross led the Tornadoes as she won the 2025 individual title with a personal best 25:27.4. Lauren Henderson finished fourth. Mary Rodriguez placed sixth. Lamoy Duffus and Aliana Taylor came in eighth and ninth, respectively. Talladega College finished with 24 points, which was well ahead of the runner-up Dillard University, which finished with 56 points. The Tornadoes will qualify for the 2025 NAIA Women's Cross Country National Championship on November 21 at Apalachee National Park in Tallahassee, Florida. This is Talladega's first HBCUAC title.
Talladega head coach Terry Gaitor won 2025 HBCUAC Coach of the Year. His assistant Kerri McCarter won 2025 HBCUAC Assistant Coach of the Year.
Joining Talladega are the 2025 individual runner-up Karlise Davison from Dillard University, Herlancia Miller from Tougaloo College, who finished third, Rena Chebor from Voorhees University, who finished fifth and Nhaydia Flowers from Dillard University, who finished seventh.
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About the HBCU Athletic Conference
The HBCU Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) is the only HBCU conference in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The HBCUAC membership includes Dillard University (LA), Fisk University (TN), Huston-Tillotson University (TX), Oakwood University (AL), Paul Quinn College (TX), Philander Smith University (AR), Rust College (MS), Southern University at New Orleans (LA), Stillman College (AL), Talladega College (AL), Tougaloo College (MS), University of the Virgin Islands (St. Thomas), Voorhees University (SC), Wilberforce University (OH), and Wiley University (TX). HBCUAC sponsors championships in men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's track and field, women's volleyball, softball, and baseball. In 2022, the HBCUAC secured the largest media rights deal in conference and NAIA history, signing a multimillion-dollar deal with Urban Edge Network. On July 1, 2024, the conference rebranded from the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) to the HBCU Athletic Conference, marking a new era for the conference that embodies the makeup of its membership. For more information, visit hbcuac.org.