The Big West had a combined three individuals qualify to the national meet, Friday at the NCAA Cross Country Championship West and Mountain Regionals.
 
The West Region meet was held at Arcade Creek Cross Country Course in Sacramento, Calif., while the Mountain Region races were hosted at UNM Golf Course in Albuquerque, N.M. All-Region praise was bestowed upon the top-25 finishers in each of the nine regional meets around the country.
 
WEST REGION
In the women’s 6K in Sacramento, Cal Poly’s Tatiana Cornejo was the top individual from the conference with a time of 19:30.6 for sixth place. By being one of the top four regional finishers not on an advancing team, Cornejo nabs a qualifying spot for the national meet. UC San Diego’s Elle Marsyla (20th/19:58.6) and California Baptist’s Helena Mees (25th/20:07.8) earn All-West Region accolades along with Cornejo.
 
California Baptist was the top women’s team from the league with 280 points for a ninth-place finish. Cal Poly (14th/383 points), UC Irvine (15th/412 points), UC San Diego (20th/607 points) and UC Santa Barbara (21st/638 points) were the top five squads from the conference.
 
In the men’s 10K, California Baptist’s Pedro Marin had the best individual performance with a third-place effort with a time of 29:10.4. Marin nabs a qualifying spot for the national meet by being a top four finisher not on an advancing team. Fellow Lancer Yemane Mulugeta earned All-West Region praise alongside Marin with an 18th-place performance, crossing the line in 29:32.5.
 
The top men’s team from The Big West was California Baptist in seventh place with 172 points. Cal Poly (13th/362 points), UC San Diego (16th/455 points), Cal State Fullerton (21st/619 points) and UC Riverside (22nd/620 points) were the top five squads from the league.
 
MOUNTAIN REGION
Utah Valley’s Caren Kipsirat placed sixth in the women’s 6K, coming in at 20:00.2 at the mountain regionals, and earned a spot in the national meet by being a top four finisher not on an advancing team. Utah Valley placed eighth as a team with 228 points.
 
 In the men’s 10K, Utah Valley’s Sila Kiplagat earned All-Region honors by finishing in 22nd with a time of 29:50.7. The Wolverines placed ninth as a team with 273 points.
 
The 2026 DI NCAA Cross Country Championship selections will be announced on Saturday, Nov. 14 on NCAA.com.