The Butler men's cross country team, ranked No. 14 in this week's national coaches poll, will compete in the 2025 NCAA Cross Country Championhsips Saturday. 

The meet will take place in Columbia, Missouri, at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course. Early in the season, on Sept. 26, the Dawgs competed in the Gans Creek Classic at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course. Butler finished seventh in a field that included 17 ranked teams, finishing ahead of 11 of them.

The men's national championship will begin at 11:10 a.m. Eastern and 10:10 a.m. Central. The meet will air on ESPNU, and live results can be found here. Head coach Matt Roe will run William Zegarski, Jesse Hamlin, Austin Gabay, Matteo Rosio, Eli Fullerton, Brendan Thomas and Matthew Forrester.

William Zegarski, who earned All-America honors at the 2024 national championships, is coming off back-to-back top-five finishes in his past two starts. He won the BIG EAST individual championship, covering the 8K course in Nebraska in 23:08.41. Zegarski led the way for the Dawgs, guiding them to their fourth BIG EAST title in the past six seasons. Last weekend at the Great Lakes Regional Championship, Zegarski finished fourth, running the 10K course in 29:43.16. He was also named co-BIG EAST Player of the Week on Oct. 22 after placing 14th at the Nuttycombe Invitational.

Jesse Hamlin finished second last weekend at the Great Lakes Regional Championship, completing the 10K course in 29:43.16. He led the Bulldogs, who placed second as a team to earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Championships. His second-best run of the season came two weeks earlier, when he placed fifth at the BIG EAST Championship in 23:11.57. 
Matthew Forrester did not compete last weekend at the Great Lakes Regional Championship but is set to race this weekend at the NCAA Championships. Forrester was the runner-up at the BIG EAST Championship, joining Hamlin and Zegarski in the top five.

Austin Gabay has put together a strong two-week stretch. At the BIG EAST Championship, he finished sixth, becoming the fourth Butler runner in the top six. He followed that with another solid performance at the Great Lakes Regional, where he placed 15th.

Brendan Thomas, who finished 12th at the BIG EAST Championship, was named BIG EAST Male Athlete of the Week on Sept. 9 after winning the Mike Baumer Cross Country Classic. He completed the five-kilometer race in 14:33.3.

Matteo Rossio and Eli Fullerton have also performed at a high level this season. Both finished in the top 20 at the BIG EAST Championship.

When the Dawgs toe the line this weekend, it will mark the sixth-consecutive season the Butler men's cross country team has competed in the NCAA Championships. The streak is now the longest in Butler University history for any team in NCAA postseason play.