Head Coach

Bio

Brent Borden ‘s involvement with Carson-Newman Track and Cross-Country spans for nearly 3 years. For most of his life, Borden has run or coached cross-country and distance events on the track. Originally from Corryton, Tennessee, Borden is an East Tennessee native with roots and connections in this area. Borden received his childhood education at Grace Christian Academy (Knoxville), where he was actively involved in track and cross-country during middle school and high school.

Borden was a 6-time All-State performer in track and field, and 2-time All-State performer in cross-country. During his track senior season at Grace Christian, Borden earned two state-runner up finishes, in the 1600 and 800 meters, respectively. He also achieved 4 regional titles, including a victory in the 800, 1600, 3200 and team victory in the 4 x 400 relay at the regional championships. Borden graduated from Grace Christian in 2018, as he signed to run cross country and track at the University of Tennessee at Martin, in 2018.

Borden spent 4 years competing at NCAA Division 1 level, competing for UT Martin from 2018-2022. During his tenure as a Skyhawk, he was a part of several successful teams. Borden was a scorer for the Skyhawks during his junior and senior season and earned All-OVC honors during the 2019 outdoor track season. Academically, Borden was named to the Chancellor’s and OVC Commissioner’s Honor Roll all four years (2019-2022). In addition, he received the OVC Medal of Honor award for maintaining a 4.0 GPA during his senior year in 2021-2022. Borden completed his undergraduate studies at UT Martin in May of 2022, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Health and Human performance (exercise science).

Borden joined Carson-Newman’s roster in the fall of 2022 as a graduate transfer. During his first season as an eagle, Borden was the team’s top finisher during the 2022 XC season in 5 of 6 XC meets, including the NCAA Division 2 Southeast Regional, where the C-N men recorded their best finish in 19 years. Running alongside teammates like Colten Lee and Raymond Brugmans, Borden recorded 3 additional top ten finishes and several personal bests during the 2022 and 2023 seasons. During his C-N XC career, Borden became the 3rd best performer of all time in the men’s 8k, with a time of 25:04. On the track, Borden recorded several top 3 performances at meets. During the 2024 track season, he posted personal bests in the 1500 meter of 3:58 (4th all-time for C-N) and 8:54 in the 3000 meters. Academically, Borden was a 2-time recipient of the SAC Commissioner’s honor roll. In May of 2024, Borden graduated with his master’s degree in business administration, with a concentration in Sport Management.

In August of 2024, Borden was hired as Carson-Newman’s Head Cross-country coach and assistant Track and Field Coach for distance. During his first year leading the program, the eagles recorded multiple team and individual victories on the cross-country course. The 2024 XC season was highlighted by Jenna Pittman and Colten lee, who each earned All-SAC and All-Region honors. During the 2025 track season, Pittman and Lee broke several school records. Pittman broke the record for the women’s indoor mile (5:09.59) and indoor 3k (10:23.80), while Lee broke the school record in 1500 (3:53.81) and lowered his previous school records for the indoor mile (4:10.37), and indoor 3k (8:21.40).

As he enters his second-year coaching at C-N, Borden is actively striving to build the distance and cross-country programs to new levels.