SAN BRUNO, Calif. – Some of the nation's fastest student-athletes will race at The Course Spokane Valley, Spokane, Wash., on Saturday, Nov. 1, for the 2025 West Coast Conference Cross Country Championships. This will be the first ever event at the newly created course, specifically designed for cross country. The spectator-friendly course is 62 acres right next to the Spokane River.
 
The women's 6K race starts at 10:00 a.m. PT and the men's 8K race begins at 11:00 a.m. Both championships and the awards ceremony will be streamed live on ESPN+.  
 
2025 WEST COAST CONFERENCE CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
WOMEN'S RACE (6K) – 10:00 AM PT
MEN'S RACE (8K) – 11:00 AM PT
 
WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY RANKINGS AND PREVIEW
No. 22 Washington State
No. 26 Gonzaga
 
Washington State leads the way in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association rankings, coming in at No. 22 nationally and fourth in the West Region. Gonzaga is also No. 26 in the latest national polls and ranked fifth in the West Region. Gonzaga finished first as a team in three events in 2025. 

Gonzaga enters the 41st West Coast Conference Women's Cross Country Championship as the reigning champions after taking first over Portland last year by 24 points. The Gonzaga women have been crowned West Coast Conference champions three times, with the first coming in 1995. The Portland women won their first West Coast Conference Championship in 1987 and have won 21 total. Saint Mary's and Santa Clara have each won a Conference title once, while San Francisco has collected six Conference titles. 

With the top-two finishers in the 2024 Conference championship not returning, including two-time medalist Rosina Machu of Gonzaga, last year's third-place finisher and Freshman of the Year Zenah Cheptoo looks to move up and finish on top in Spokane. This season, Cheptoo has finished sixth at the Gans Creek Classic, 2nd at the WSU Alumni Open and 21st at the nationally-acclaimed Nuttycombe Invitational. Running against her will be three-time West Coast Conference Runner of the Week and teammate Rosemary Longisa. This season, the freshman has excelled, garnering a first-place finish at the Gans Creek Classic and Cougar Classic, while collecting a third-place finish at the Nuttycombe Invitational.    

In the last weekend of full competition during the regular season on Oct. 18, six West Coast Conference squads competed at the Bronco Invitational, with Santa Clara women leading all Conference teams with its second-place team finish. The Broncos' Milaina Almonte finished first individually in the women's 6k race, crossing the finish line with a time of 20:06.5.

That same weekend at the Nuttycombe Invitational on October 17, Washington State and Gonzaga squared off against each other and some of the best programs in the nation. The Cougars finished 14th out of 30 programs while the Zags finished 16th. Leading the way for Gonzaga at the Invitational was Logan Hofstee who placed 33rd. 

Most recently, Gonzaga took first at the Sasquatch Invite last Friday. In the women's 5K race, Maria Taggi Padro finished in second-place individually with a time of exactly 18 minutes.

In its very first conference championship since rejoining the West Coast Conference this year, Seattle U looks to show the rest of the conference why they came back. Look for Azalea Groleau to lead the way for the Redhawks.  

2025 West Coast Conference Women's Cross Country Runners Of The Week
September 2: Sage Brooks, Oregon State
September 9: Angelina Lione, Pacific
September 16: Rosemary Longisa, Washington State
September 23: Hayden Washington, LMU
September 30: Rosemary Longisa, Washington Stae
October 7: Jessica Frydenlund, Gonzaga
October 14: Camille Broadbent, Gonzaga
October 21: Rosemary Longisa, Washington State
October 28: Maria Taggi Padro, Gonzaga

MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY RANKINGS AND PREVIEW
No. 11 Washington State
RV Gonzaga

Washington State leads the way in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association rankings, coming in at No. 11 nationally and first in the West Region. Gonzaga is also receiving votes in the latest national polls and ranked fifth in the West Region. Gonzaga won four events as a team in 2025 along with five top-5 finishes. 

Portland enters the meet as the reigning Conference champions for the 51st West Coast Conference Men's Cross Country Championship after topping Gonzaga last year by 15 points. The Pilots boasted three runners in the top five led by second-place finisher Matt Strangio (23:12.0). History is on the side of the Portland men, though, having won 35 West Coast Conference Championships dating back to their first team title in 1979.

But look for Washington State to prove their national ranking. Leading the way for the Cougars will be last year's individual champion Evans Kurui and two-time 2025 West Coast Conference Runner of the Week Solomon Kipchoge. The two sophomores have battled against each other this season, with Kurui garnering first-place finishes at the Cougar Classic, WSU Alumni Open and fifth-place at the Nuttycombe Invitational, while Kipchoge collected first-place at the Gans Creek Classic and second-place finishes at the Nuttycombe Invitational, Cougar Classic and the WSU Alumni Open. 

In the last weekend of full competition during the regular season on Oct. 18, five West Coast Conference squads competed at the Bronco Invitational, with Pacific leading the West Coast Conference with its fourth-place team finish. The Tigers' Daniel Judd took seventh individually in the men's 8K race, crossing the finish line with a time of 24:20.5.

Also that same weekend, Gonzaga, Portland and Washington State traveled to Madison, Wis. to compete in the nationally-acclaimed Nuttycombe Invitational. The Cougars finished in sixth-place out of 32 programs, with Solomon Kipchoge's 23:05.6 time in the 8k earning him a second-place overall and Evans Kurui collecting a fifth-place finish with a time of 23:26.5. Portland's Jonas Price finished 20th with a time of 23:38.3 to round out the top-20 finishes for the West Coast Conference at the Invitational. 

Most recently, Gonzaga took first at the Sasquatch Invite last Friday. In the men's 8K race, Caden Swanson paced the Zags with his third-place finish, clocking in at 25:10.7. 

In its very first conference championship since rejoining the West Coast Conference this year, Seattle U looks to show the rest of the conference why they came back. Look for Roman Radecki to lead the way for the Redhawks.

2025 West Coast Conference Men's Cross Country Runners Of The Week
September 2: Collin Penuel, Portland
September 16: Kohl Sanders, Pacific
September 23: Jett Davenport, Pacific
September 30: Solomon Kipchoge, Washington State
October 7: Eliason Kabasenche, Portland
October 14: Zane Jackson, Saint Mary's 
October 21: Solomon Kipchoge, Washington State
October 28: Caden Swanson, Gonzaga