Jonathan Rivera, who has been running track since his sixth-grade year, recently signed scholarship papers to attend Carson-Newman University to continue in both cross country and track.

Jonathan specialized in the 400-meter, 800-meter and the 1600-meter events for the Trojans, but particularly enjoyed running in the 400-meter events.

“I love the Christian-centered environment at Carson-Newman,” Jonathan said. “I love the team

and campus overall when I went on the visit. I trust the coach and he seems like he knows what he is doing. Overall, I love the campus.”

When asked about a major, Jonathan said that he will major in exercise science. He is the son of Erin Roth and Nathan Cockre of Morristown.

Carson-Newman competes in the NCAA Division II’s South Atlantic Conference. Their Cross-Country team are coached by Brent Borden and Whitney Lee. In the 2025 South Atlantic Conference Cross Country Championships, the men’s team finished in 10th place at the meet held in Greeneville.

The C-N men’s track team is one of two SAC squads that are ranked in the U.S. Track and Field and Cross-Country Association poll, with the rank of 15th. This came on the heels of a third-place finish at the SAC Outdoor Championships last week.