SAN BRUNO, Calif. - The 2026 West Coast Conference Cross Country Championships are set for Tecolote Shores North in San Diego’s Mission Bay Park this Friday, Oct. 30.
This marks the second time the Championships will be held at Tecolote Shores and hosted by the University of San Diego. In 2016, Portland (Women’s - 42 points) and BYU (Men’s - 24 points) captured the team titles, while the Pilots’ Lauren LaRocco (20:27) and San Francisco’s Alex Short (24:40) claimed the individual races.
The Championships will begin at 10:00 a.m. PT, with both races and the awards ceremony streaming live on
ESPN+.
2026 WEST COAST CONFERENCE CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
WOMEN’S PREVIEW
San Francisco leads all WCC programs at No. 8 in the
latest USTFCCCA West Region rankings, followed by No. 12 Portland.
Portland (2016, 2023) and USF (2017) are the only current members to have won a WCC title in the past decade; stretch that over the 41-year history of the women's Championship and only Portland (21 times), USF (6 times), Santa Clara (2001), and Saint Mary’s (1990) have hoisted the hardware.
Santa Clara’s Milaina Almonte (sixth) is the highest returning finisher from the 2025 Championship, followed by Portland’s Megan Crum (11th) and San Francisco’s Faustine Chaboche (15th).
2026 West Coast Conference Women’s Cross Country Runners of the Week
September 8: Lizzy Crawford, Pepperdine
September 22: Lizzy Crawford, Pepperdine
September 29: Milaina Almonte, Santa Clara
October 6: Latham West, Portland
October 20: Faustine Chaboche, San Francisco
MEN’S PREVIEW
On paper, the chase for the men’s team crown is Portland’s to lose - the Pilots have won a whopping 35 titles in the event’s 51 stagings, though only one (2024) inside the past decade. Portland is the lone current league member to have won a conference title.
The Pilots enter as the top WCC team in the
latest USTFCCCA West Region rankings at No. 9, followed closely by San Francisco at No. 11.
USF’s Herbie Johnson (12th) is the top returning finisher from 2025, followed by Portland’s Anthony Giesch (19th) and the Dons’ Daniel Abramowicz (21st).
2026 West Coast Conference Men’s Cross Country Runners of the Week
September 8: Adam Lippe, Portland
September 22: Dominic Silhol, Pepperdine
September 29: Jacob Crisman, Seattle U
October 6: Herbie Johnson, San Francisco
October 13: Nolan Turgeon, Portland
October 20: Daniel Abramowicz, San Francisco