Big West Cross Country Championships Makes Biennial Return to UC Riverside

10/30/2026 8:30:00 AM

2026 Big West Cross Country Schedule | Championship Homepage | Live Results

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What 2 Watch 4
UC Riverside is set to host the 2026 Big West Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships, Saturday, Oct. 31. 11 men’s teams and 12 women’s teams from The Big West will converge on UC Riverside's Ag/Ops Course. The men’s 8K race is scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. PT, followed by the women’s 6K at 9:15 a.m. PT. The awards ceremony will follow the women's race. Entrance to the race is $14 general admission for ages three and up at the door, $12 if bought during presale. Admission is free for all students from Big West institutions with a valid student ID. Purchase tickets >>>

Men's 8K Preview
California Baptist is the highest ranked team according to USTFCCCA XCRI. Cal Poly has hoisted the hardware a record 21 times (most recently in 2025).

Individually, some names to keep an eye on are:
- Rory Catsimanes (CP) - 6th in 2025, 6th in 2024; 2025 10,000m champion
- Dheeraj Gurusamy (CP) - 7th in 2025
- Alex Hartshorn (UVU) - 2026 WAC 1,500m 4th place
- Sila Kiplagat (UVU) - WAC XC runner-up; WAC 1,500m & 5,000m champion
- Pedro Marin (CBU) - 2026 XC All-American; 2026 WAC 1,500m runner-up
- Yemane Mulugeta (CBU) - 2026 NAIA 5,000m 3rd place
- Itumeleng Ngxabazi (CBU) - 2026 NJCAA 10,000m runner-up

Women's 6K Preview
Utah Valley is the highest ranked team according to USTFCCCA XCRI. UC Irvine has hoisted the hardware a record 12 times (most recently in 2005).

Individually, some names to keep an eye on are:
- Tatiana Cornejo (CP) - 5th in 2024; 2025 1500m champion
- Reagan Doman (UVU) - 2026 WAC 5,000m runner-up
- Emma Hadley (UCI) - 2026 1,500m champion
- Dasha LeFaivre (UCSD) - 7th in 2025
- Caren Kipsirat (UVU) - 2026 WAC 3,000m SC champion
- Elle Marsyla (UCSD) - 2026 NCAA DIII 10,000m champion
- Kaia Schmidt (UCI) - 4th in 2025; 2026 3,000m SC champion

The Big West in USTFCCCA Rankings
The Utah Valley men are ranked 10th in the Mountain Region. Three Big West men's teams are rated in the West Region in No. 7 California Baptist, No. 13 Cal Poly and No. 15 Cal State Fullerton. The Mountain Region women's rankings features Utah Valley at No. 7. The West Region women's rankings are highlighted by three Big West teams in No. 11 California Baptist, No. 13 Cal Poly and No. 14 UC Irvine.

For the full rankings, click here.

2026 Rewind
For the fourth year in a row, Cal Poly swept both the men’s and women’s team titles at the 2026 Big West Cross Country Championships, hosted by Hawai'i and Queen Kapi'olani Regional Park. It was the first occurrence in conference history that the same program has swept both men's and women's team titles for four consecutive years. Cal Poly took its record 21st team title on the men's side with six runners in the top 10, dominating the competition with a mere 27 points. UC Davis was second with 47 points, followed by Cal State Fullerton with 98. Muhammed Ahmed of UC Davis crossed the finish line of the 8K course in 24:14.2 to take the individual title. Cal Poly won its 11th team crown on the women’s side with all five scorers in the top 11 for a 31 point total. UC Irvine placed second with 75 points and UC San Diego was third with 82 points. UC San Diego's Sylvana Northrop won the women’s individual title with a time of 20:42.1 over six kilometers.

The Big West had a combined three All-Region honorees, two in the women’s 6K and one in the men’s 10K, at the 2025 NCAA Cross Country Championship West Regionals. All-Region praise is awarded to the top 25 finishers in each of the nine regional meets around the country. In the women's 6K, Cal Poly’s Kelli Gaffney was the top finisher from the league in 16th place with a time of 20:07.5, followed by Northrop (20:16.6) in 25th. In the men’s 10K, Ahmed of UC Davis (30:00.3) was the top runner from the league in 25th place. Gaffney qualified for the national race by virtue of being the fourth individual not on a qualifying team.

Gaffney represented The Big West at the 2025 NCAA Cross Country Championships in Columbia, Mo, placing 177th out of 261 runners in the six-kilometer race with a time of 20:25.8.

At the end of the season, Ahmed was named Big West Men's Athlete of the Year, while Northrop won Women's Athlete of the Year. The Men’s Coach of the Year went to Ryan Vanhoy of Cal Poly, while the top coaching honor on the women’s side was given to Cal Poly’s Michelle Chewens.

2026 Cross Country Weekly Awards
	- Men's Cross Country -	- Women's Cross Country -
Sept. 8	Yemane Mulugeta, California Baptist	Caren Kipsirat, Utah Valley	Release
Sept. 15	Adam Divinity, CSUN	Jordin Lieberman, UC Santa Barbara	Release
Sept. 22	Pedro Marin, California Baptist	Emma Hadley, UC Irvine	Release
Sept. 29	Dheeraj Gurusamy, Cal Poly	Tatiana Cornejo, Cal Poly	Release
Oct. 6	Itumeleng Ngxabazi, California Baptist	Melisse Djomby Enyawe, Cal Poly	Release
Oct. 13	Eshaan Hussain, UC Riverside	Kaia Schmidt, UC Irvine	Release
Oct. 20	Pedro Marin, California Baptist	Tatiana Cornejo, Cal Poly	Release
Oct. 27	N/A	Jadyn Palaschuk, Cal State Fullerton	Release

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Founded in 1969, The Big West is an NCAA Division I conference comprised of 12 nationally recognized institutions: California Baptist, Cal Poly, Cal State Bakersfield, Cal State Fullerton, CSUN, Long Beach State, Sacramento State, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara and Utah Valley.

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