Saturday, November 22
Columbia, Mo.
10:20 AM ET/9:20 AM CT
Liberty University
at
NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
Allie Zealand will make her first appearance at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, Saturday in Columbia, Mo.
Zealand Ready for NCAA XC Championships Debut
11/19/2025 3:28:00 PM | Cross Country
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Liberty's Allie Zealand will wrap up her sophomore season by making her first trip to the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships. The meet will take place on Saturday at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia, Mo.
Slated for 10:20 a.m. Eastern, the women's 6K will be the first of Saturday's two races. The men's 10K will follow at 11:10 a.m. Eastern.
How to Follow the Flames and Lady Flames
The NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships will be televised live on ESPNU with coverage beginning at 10 a.m. Eastern.
Live results will be available throughout both of Friday's races, courtesy of PrimeTime Timing.
Weather Report
Saturday in Columbia is expected to be a great day for cross country running, with partly cloudy skies and a high in the mid 50s. The course could be soggy in spots following projected rainfall during the day on Friday.
How She Got Here
Zealand has placed inside the top five in all six of her cross country races this fall, achieving especially notable performances each of her last four times out.
Oct. 3 – Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational (South Bend, Ind.) – Zealand was the women's 5K runner-up, finishing just 1.6 seconds behind individual champion Mary Bonner Dalton of host Notre Dame and just ahead of eventual Southeast Region champion Salma Elbadra (South Carolina) and Great Lakes Region champion Amaya Aramini (Notre Dame). Zealand's 15:54.7 clocking ranks No. 2 in the meet's 38-year history and shattered the program record (Calli Doan's 16:15.1 effort from the 2022 Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational).
Oct. 17 – Pre-National Invitational (Columbia, Mo.) – Running her first 6K of the season, Zealand posted a program-record time of 19:40.4 for fifth place overall. Zealand's first career sub-20:00 6K took down the mark of 19:50.6 achieved by Calli Doan at the 2021 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, Fla.
Nov. 1 – CUSA Championships (Huntsville, Ala.) – Zealand's first collegiate cross country victory came in impressive fashion, as she outdistanced her nearest CUSA competitor by nearly 30 seconds. Her winning 6K time of 19:53.0 was the second fastest 6K mark in meet history and the fastest in 24 years. Zealand led the Lady Flames to their second consecutive CUSA women's team title.
Nov. 14 – NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships (Earlysville, Va.) – Zealand shattered her own Liberty women's 6K record with a 19:14.3. That was good for fifth place in the Southeast Region and punched her ticket to Columbia. Zealand crossed the finish line one place in front of ACC champion Angelina Napoleon (NC State), becoming the third-highest finisher at this meet in program history. Ednah Kurgat was the Southeast Region runner-up in 2015 and Calli Doan took fourth place in 2021. Zealand also earned all-region honors for the second year in a row after previously taking 20th in the Southeast Region as a freshman in 2024.
News and Notes
Slated for 10:20 a.m. Eastern, the women's 6K will be the first of Saturday's two races. The men's 10K will follow at 11:10 a.m. Eastern.
How to Follow the Flames and Lady Flames
The NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships will be televised live on ESPNU with coverage beginning at 10 a.m. Eastern.
Live results will be available throughout both of Friday's races, courtesy of PrimeTime Timing.
Weather Report
Saturday in Columbia is expected to be a great day for cross country running, with partly cloudy skies and a high in the mid 50s. The course could be soggy in spots following projected rainfall during the day on Friday.
How She Got Here
Zealand has placed inside the top five in all six of her cross country races this fall, achieving especially notable performances each of her last four times out.
Oct. 3 – Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational (South Bend, Ind.) – Zealand was the women's 5K runner-up, finishing just 1.6 seconds behind individual champion Mary Bonner Dalton of host Notre Dame and just ahead of eventual Southeast Region champion Salma Elbadra (South Carolina) and Great Lakes Region champion Amaya Aramini (Notre Dame). Zealand's 15:54.7 clocking ranks No. 2 in the meet's 38-year history and shattered the program record (Calli Doan's 16:15.1 effort from the 2022 Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational).
Oct. 17 – Pre-National Invitational (Columbia, Mo.) – Running her first 6K of the season, Zealand posted a program-record time of 19:40.4 for fifth place overall. Zealand's first career sub-20:00 6K took down the mark of 19:50.6 achieved by Calli Doan at the 2021 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, Fla.
Nov. 1 – CUSA Championships (Huntsville, Ala.) – Zealand's first collegiate cross country victory came in impressive fashion, as she outdistanced her nearest CUSA competitor by nearly 30 seconds. Her winning 6K time of 19:53.0 was the second fastest 6K mark in meet history and the fastest in 24 years. Zealand led the Lady Flames to their second consecutive CUSA women's team title.
Nov. 14 – NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships (Earlysville, Va.) – Zealand shattered her own Liberty women's 6K record with a 19:14.3. That was good for fifth place in the Southeast Region and punched her ticket to Columbia. Zealand crossed the finish line one place in front of ACC champion Angelina Napoleon (NC State), becoming the third-highest finisher at this meet in program history. Ednah Kurgat was the Southeast Region runner-up in 2015 and Calli Doan took fourth place in 2021. Zealand also earned all-region honors for the second year in a row after previously taking 20th in the Southeast Region as a freshman in 2024.
News and Notes
- Zealand gives Liberty an individual qualifier to the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships for the third year in a row. Nicholas Kiprotich placed 113th in the men's 10K in Earlysville, Va. in 2023 and Adelyn Fairley was 77th in the women's 6K in Madison, Wis. in 2024.
- Zealand is the sixth Lady Flame ever to reach the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships as an individual and the first to get there during her sophomore season. Liberty's first NCAA Division I women's cross country national qualifier was her mother and coach, Heather (Sagan) Zealand, in 2000 and 2001.
- Zealand will attempt to finish inside the top 40 of Saturday's 6K to earn All-America honors. Such a finish would mark her first collegiate All-America recognition and would make her the third Lady Flame to become an NCAA Division I All-American in cross country. Ednah Kurgat placed 12th in Louisville, Ky. in 2015 and Calli Doan came in 28th in Tallahassee, Fla. in 2021 to collect All-America honors.
- Zealand will be making her second NCAA Division I national meet appearance of 2025. She previously advanced to the 2025 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Ore. in the women's 1,500. Zealand punctuated her freshman year with a 23rd-place showing in the 1,500 prelims at Hayward Field.
- Zealand is CUSA's only representative (male or female) at the 2025 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships.
- Zealand's cross country 5K and 6K standards give her five Liberty records thus far in her collegiate career. She also owns the program records for the indoor 3K (9:07.33), indoor distance medley relay (11:21.25) and outdoor 1,500 (4:09.76).
- Running distance at Liberty has been a Zealand family affair. Zealand's parents, Josh Zealand and Heather (Sagan) Zealand, both ran track & field and cross country for the Flames. Additionally, younger brother William Zealand recently signed to join the Flames' track & field and cross country squads for the 2026-27 academic year. Zealand's mother was Liberty's first NCAA Division I national champion, racing to victory in the women's mile at the 2002 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships.
Players Mentioned
Coach Zealand & Ryann Aycock Give An Update On The Cross Country Season
Wednesday, September 17
Emma Unger: Every Step of the Way
Wednesday, May 14
Follow the Leader: Lance Bingham
Tuesday, May 13
Beau Backes: Following God's Calling in Two Worlds
Friday, May 02