2025 Big West Cross Country Awards
With the conclusion of the 2025 NCAA cross country season, The Big West is proud to announce this year’s award winners. 
 
The Big West Men’s Athlete of the Year is Muhammed Ahmed of UC Davis. The senior was the individual winner in the men’s 8K at The Big West Championship with a time of 24:14.2. Ahmed raced three times in the regular season, with two top-10 finishes at the Kim Duyst Invitational-8K (23:33.6/4th) and Bill Dellinger Invitational-8K (23:30.7/8th). The fourth-year Aggie placed 25th at the NCAA West Region Championship, completing 10K in 30:00.3 to earn All-Region distinction. Ahmed becomes the third Aggie to win the conference’s men’s top honor. 
 
UC San Diego’s Sylvana Northrop is the 2025 Big West Women’s Athlete of the Year. The senior was the individual champion in the women’s 6K at The Big West Championship, crossing the finish line in 20:42.1. Northrop competed in four meets during the regular season with three top-five finishes at the Aztec Coastal Classic-5K (17:41.5/2nd), Texas A&M Invitational-5K (17:08.4/4th) and Highlander Invitational-6K (20:01.4/1st). The Cupertino, Calif. product was 23rd (20:16.6) at the NCAA West Region Championship for the All-Region accolade. Northrop is the first individual from UC San Diego to win the Women’s Athlete of the Year honor.  
 
Cal Poly’s Eddie Sion is the Men’s Freshman of the Year. Catsimanes was the top rookie at the championship, coming in fourth place with a time of 24:25.9 for all-league status. The native of Glendale, Calif. ran in three regular-season races, and was 78th (31:00.4) at the NCAA West Region Championship. Sion is the 12th Mustang to win the conference’s top men’s freshman award. 
 
UC Santa Barbara’s Addie Oversmith wins the Women’s Freshman of the Year honor. Oversmith was the top freshman, sixth overall, at The Big West Championship, finishing the course in 21:28.9 to claim All-Big West honors. The Raleigh, N.C. product had four top-10 finishes during the regular season, at the Waves Invitational-4K (2nd/13:23.0), Gaucho Twilight-6K (21:30.1/4th), Charles Bowles Invitational-5K (17:12.7/5th) and Santa Clara Invitational-6K (20:33.6/2nd). Oversmith is the second Gaucho to earn the Women’s Freshman of the Year award. 
 
Cal Poly’s Ryan Vanhoy is the Men’s Coach of the Year for the fourth straight year. Vanhoy helmed the Mustangs to their 21st Big West title in program history, scoring a mere 27 points with six finishers in the top 10. It is Vanhoy’s fourth top coaching honor and 20th time that a Mustang head coach won the Men’s Coach of the Year. 
 
Cal Poly’s Michelle Chewens is the Women’s Coach of the Year for the fourth consecutive year. Chewens led the Mustangs to their 11th Big West title in program history with four runners in the top 10 for a total of 31 points. Kelli Gaffney earned All-Region status by finishing in 16th place (20:07.7) at NCAA West Regionals and qualified for the national meet in the process. It is the 11th time that Cal Poly has won the top coaching award. 
 
All-Big West honors went to those that finished in the top 10 at The Big West Championships. Joining Ahmed and Sion on the men’s all-conference team are Spencer Pickren (Cal Poly), Zachary Parker (UC Santa Barbara), Chris Coles (UC Davis), Rory Catsimanes (Cal Poly), Dheeraj Gurusamy (Cal Poly), Michael Chambers (Cal Poly), Bryce Kueker (Cal Poly) and Donavan Cheruiyot (UC Davis). 
 
Joining Northrop and Oversmith on the women’s all-conference team are Nicole Bridges (Cal Poly), Kelli Gaffney (Cal Poly), Kaia Schmidt (UC Irvine), Renae Searls (Cal Poly), Dasha LeFaivre (UC San Diego), Emma Dunmire (UC San Diego), Fiona McGrath (UC Davis) and Melisse Djomby Enyawe (Cal Poly). 
 

2025 Big West Cross Country Awards
Men's Athlete of the Year: Muhammed Ahmed, UC Davis Men's Freshman of the Year: Eddie Sion, Cal Poly Men's Coach of the Year: Ryan Vanhoy, Cal Poly Women's Athlete of the Year: Sylvana Northrop, UC San Diego  Women's Freshman of the Year: Addie Oversmith, UC Santa Barbara Women's Coach of the Year: Michelle Chewens, Cal Poly
All-Big Men's Cross Country West Team
Student-Athlete	Year	Institution	Hometown
Muhammed Ahmed	Sr.	UC Davis	Newark, Calif.
Spencer Pickren	Sr.	Cal Poly	Folsom, Calif.
Zachary Parker	Jr.	UC Santa Barbara	San Francisco, Calif.
Eddie Sion	Fr.	Cal Poly	Glendale, Calif.
Chris Coles	Sr.	UC Davis	Claremont, Calif.
Rory Catsimanes	So.	Cal Poly	San Clemente, Calif.
Dheeraj Gurusamy	So.	Cal Poly	Livermore, Calif.
Michael Chambers	Sr.	Cal Poly	Carmichael, Calif.
Bryce Kueker	Sr.	Cal Poly	San Diego, Calif.
Donavan Cheruiyot	Jr.	UC Davis
All-Big Women's Cross Country West Team
Student-Athlete	Year	Institution	Hometown
Sylvana Northrop	Sr.	UC San Diego	Cupertino, Calif.
Nicole Bridges	So.	Cal Poly	Bakersfield, Calif.
Kelli Gaffney	Jr.	Cal Poly	Temecula, Calif.
Kaia Schmidt	Jr.	UC Irvine	West Linn, Ore.
Renae Searls	So.	Cal Poly	Martinez, Calif.
Addie Oversmith	Fr.	UC Santa Barbara	Raleigh, N.C.
Dasha LeFaivre	So.	UC San Diego	Brookline, Mass.
Emma Dunmire	Sr.	UC San Diego	Mill Valley, Calif.
Fiona McGrath	So.	UC Davis	Solana Beach, Calif.
Melisse Djomby Enyawe	So.	Cal Poly	Newport Beach, Calif.