University of Tennessee Southern Men's Cross Country

Justin Watson enters his sixth year as Head Cross Country Coach and third year as Head Track & Field Coach at the University of Tennessee Southern in the 2025–26 season. He joined the Firehawk staff in October 2020. Under Watson's leadership, both the men's and women's programs have seen consistent improvement and record-setting performances. UT Southern officially added men’s and women’s Track & Field programs in the 2023–24 season. In the 2024–25 season, UT Southern Track & Field produced four SSAC individual champions: Bruno Villazon captured the conference title in both the 5000 meters and the 3000-meter steeplechase, Jacob Sanchez earned the SSAC Championship in the Javelin. Frankline Kipruto took home the 1500-meter individual title. In Cross Country, three Firehawks qualified for the NAIA National Championship: Bruno Villazon, Emma Vizina, and Cierra Arnold. Villazon was also named NAIA Cross Country Runner of the Week. In 2023-24, both cross country teams finished in the top five in the SSAC Championships. (Men placing 3rd and Women placing 4th) Alyssa Andrea became the first female in program history to qualify for the NAIA Championship. In the 2022–23 season—his third at the helm—junior transfer Titus Korir set a new men’s 8k school record of 25:51 at the Bobcat Invitational and became just the second athlete in program history to earn Mid-South Conference Runner of the Week honors. The men posted their best-ever team finish at the Mid-South Conference Championship, placing sixth, with Korir and freshman Matthew Andrea earning Second Team All-Conference honors. On the women’s side, freshman Olivia Barksdale lowered the 5k school record to 19:55 and became the first women's runner in program history to receive conference Runner of the Week honors. In 2021–22, Watson’s second season, the Firehawk men continued their rise with Azariah Kaplelach and Josh Iglus earning All-Conference honors. Kaplelach made program history by claiming the team’s first individual title at the Firehawk Invitational and the program's first Mid-South Runner of the Week honor. The men also improved their highest conference finish to seventh. On the women’s side, Briley Bain claimed six of the top ten all-time 5k marks, while four Firehawks earned Mid-South All-Academic recognition. In his debut 2020–21 season, Watson guided the men’s and women’s teams to 9th- and 10th-place finishes, respectively, at the Mid-South Conference Championships. Kaplelach became the program’s first-ever All-Conference honoree, and the Firehawk men claimed the first team title in program history at their home meet. Before UT Southern, Watson spent two seasons as a Graduate Assistant Coach at the University of West Florida, assisting with both cross country and track programs while earning his Master of Science in Physical Education and Human Performance. A native of Rogersville, Alabama, Watson was a standout student-athlete at the University of North Alabama from 2014–2018. During his collegiate career, he helped lead the program through its transition from NCAA Division II to Division I and graduated holding five of the program’s top ten 8k times—including the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th fastest—and school records in the 5k and 7k distances. He also tied for the 4th fastest 10k time. Watson earned All-Gulf South Conference honors in 2016 and 2017, NCAA Division II All-Region honors in 2017, and claimed individual titles at the 2017 Stan Sims Invitational and 2018 UAH Invitational. As of the 2021 season, he still held the highest individual finish (15th) for North Alabama at the NCAA Division I ASUN Championships. Watson was honored as a member of the North Alabama All-Decade Team (2010–2019). He holds a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies with an emphasis in Health and a Minor in Mathematics from UNA. Coach Watson is married to his wife, Laura. The couple welcomed their daughter, Blakely, in March of 2025. THE 411 Hometown: Rogersville, Ala. Family: Wife: Laura; Daughter: Blakely Education: B.S. in Health with Mathmatics minor (North Alabama, 2018); M.S. in Physical Education and Human Performance (West Florida, 2020) Seasons at UTS: 6th Season (2025-26) HONORS 2024 SSAC Track & Field Sportsmanship Award 2025 SSAC Track & Field Sportsmanship Award   COACHING HISTORY     2019-2020 - Graduate Assistant at West Florida 2020-Present - Head Cross Country Coach at Tennessee Southern 2023-Present - Head Track & Field Coach at Tennessee Southern   Cross Country   Year Men's Overall Record Win Pct. Conf. Finish Women's Overall Record Win Pct. Conf. Finish Conf. Champions National Qualifiers 2020 4-10 .286 9th 1-13 .071 10th 2021 15-37 .288 7th 5-47 .096 11th 2022 14-15 .483 6th 13-23 .361 10th 2023 81-48 .651 4th 74-59 .556 3rd Alyssa Andrea 2024 83-64 .565 2nd 68-81 .456 3rd Bruno Villazon Bruno Villazon, Emma Vizina, Cierra Arnold 2025 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 5 seasons 197-174 .531 161-223 .419   Track & Field   Year Conf. Finish Conf. Finish Conf. Champions National Qualifiers 2024 8th 8th 2025 6th 8th Bruno Villazon (5000m, 3000 Steeplechase), Frankline Kipruto (1500m), Jacob Sanchez (Javelin) 2026 2 seasons

Dillon Dawson enters his second season as Assistant Cross Country Coach at the University of Tennessee Southern in 2025–26. Dawson arrived in Pulaski after spending two years as a graduate assistant at Northwestern State University, where he led the distance athletes in track and field and worked directly with the cross country program. While at NSU, Dawson coached three athletes to scoring performances at the NCAA Division I Southland Conference Championships, including: Ceyda Bayur – 800m John Klein – 3000m Steeplechase Korbin Shumate – 800m & 3000m Steeplechase Before entering the coaching ranks, Dawson was a standout student-athlete at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho, where he was a multi-time national qualifier in cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track and field. He earned All-Conference honors and was a scoring member of the 3rd-place team at the 2019 NAIA Cross Country National Championships. He also helped his team win three Frontier Conference Championships before the program transitioned to the Cascade Conference, where they captured another team title. A native of Chelan, Washington, Dawson was an All-State performer in both cross country and track & field at Chelan High School. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology–Coaching from Lewis-Clark State College in 2022 and completed his Master of Science in Health and Human Performance at Northwestern State University in 2024. Dawson brings competitive experience and coaching versatility to the Firehawk program as he enters his second year on staff. THE 411 Hometown: Chelan, Washington Education: B.S. in Kinesiology–Coaching (Lewis-Clark State College, 2022) MS in Health and Human Performance (Northwestern State University, 2024) Seasons at UTS: 2nd Season (2025-26) COACHING HISTORY 2022-2024 - Graduate Assistant Coach at Northwestern State University 2024-Present - Assistant Cross Country Coach at Tennessee Southern 2024-Present - Assistant Track & Field Coach at Tennessee Southern