DALLAS – At the conclusion of the 2025 cross country season, Conference USA has awarded postseason honors as voted on by the head coaches. Middle Tennessee swept the men’s awards, honoring Allan Kiplagat, Moses Lekokei and head coach Keith Vroman. On the women’s side, Liberty’s Allie Zealand and coach Heather Zealand collected titles, alongside Kennesaw State’s Riley Perlakowski.
 
Picking up his second consecutive Men’s Athlete of the Year honor, Kiplagat delivered a standout sophomore campaign, building on his record-breaking freshman season. He finished within the top five at every regular season race, most notably being his third-place finish at the Southern Showcase against a field of 460 runners. His consistent excellence set the stage for the CUSA Championship, where he claimed the individual title for the second straight year. Kiplagat completed the season earning All-Region honors after finishing 23^rd at the NCAA South Region Championships.
 
Recording a stellar sophomore season, Allie Zealand was named the Women’s Athlete of the Year. As the only CUSA runner to compete at the 2025 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, Zealand placed 21st to become an All-American for the first time in her career. That performance marked the highest national finish by a CUSA women's runner since the spring of 2021. She finished inside the top five at every race leading up to the national meet, headlined by a fifth-place effort at the NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Championships and the CUSA individual title which she captured by more than a 30 second margin. Her CUSA-winning 6k time of 19:53.0 was the second fastest performance in meet history. As part of her outstanding success, the sophomore lowered the Liberty women's 5K record to 15:54.7 at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational and took down the women's 6K standard on three separate occasions, ending with her time of 19:06.8 at the NCAA national meet.
 
After a strong opening season with the Blue Raiders, Lekokei has earned the title of Men’s Newcomer of the Year. The Akron transfer arrived following a third-place finish at the Mid-American Conference Cross Country Championship last November. This season, he competed in four meets for the Blue Raiders, recording two top-10 finishes. At the Conference USA Championship, Lekokei placed ninth to earn CUSA Second Team accolades, finishing as the top newcomer in the conference.
 
Perlakowski has been named Women’s Newcomer of the Year after a strong first season with the Owls. The Georgia Tech transfer supported Kennesaw State in multiple impressive team finishes, most notably at the Louisville XC Classic, where her 21^st place finish helped secure a team title. She finished 45^th at the CUSA Championship and 98^th at the NCAA South Regional where the team placed 10^th, the best regional finish in team history.
 
For the fifth time in his career, Vroman has been named the CUSA Men’s Coach of the Year. This season, Vroman led the Blue Raiders to two team victories, including at the Louisville Classic among a field of 32, and at the CUSA Championship to claim the conference title. The MTSU men’s program did not finish below sixth as a team all season. At the conference championship, Vroman led his squad to a full sweep in the men’s awards, collecting the team and individual titles, Outstanding Senior, Freshman of the Meet, and six All-Conference recipients. To close a successful season, Vroman placed three runners for All-Region recognition at the NCAA South Regional, including Kiplagat, Jacinto Gaspar and Brian Kiptoo. He also had one Academic All-CUSA honoree in Juan Lucas De La Fuente.
 
For the second year in a row, Heather Zealand has earned the Women’s Coach of the Year title after coaching Liberty to its second straight CUSA title. Under her leadership, the Lady Flames placed eight runners inside the conference’s top 21 to win by 64 points, the second largest margin in meet history. Liberty was the first CUSA women’s team to successfully defend its title since Middle Tennessee won three years in a row from 2019-21. In the postseason, the Lady Flames finished 10^th overall in a tough Southeast Region which featured five national qualifying squads. Along with the team title, she coached Allie Zealand to an individual title and All-America honors with a 21^st-place national finish. Coach Zealand also oversaw significant improvements by runners like Jessica Palisca who improved from 28^th at the conference meet in 2024 to 4^th in 2025 and Katrina Schlenker who improved from 14^th in 2024 to fifth in 2025. She also led eight athletes to All-Conference honors and had three All-Academic team recipients, the most from a single program this season.
 
2025 CUSA XC Postseason Awards
 
Men’s Athlete of the Year
Allan Kiplagat, MTSU
 
Women's Athlete of the Year
Allie Zealand, Liberty
 
Men’s Newcomer of the Year
Moses Lekokei, MTSU
 
Women’s Newcomer of the Year
Riley Perlakowski, Kennesaw State
 
Men’s Coach of the Year
Keith Vroman, MTSU
 
Women’s Coach of the Year
Heather Zealand, Liberty