NCAA D1 Cross Country Regionals Decide Automatic Qualifiers

Posted by: Watch Athletics

Friday, 13 November 2026

Toledo’s historic Great Lakes sweep, commanding performances from West Virginia and Alabama, and a double victory for New Mexico highlighted the 2026 NCAA Division I Cross Country Regional Championships on Friday, November 13, as teams across nine regions secured their places at next Saturday’s national championships.

The top two teams in each regional race earned automatic qualification, confirming 18 men’s teams and 18 women’s teams for the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships on Saturday, November 21, at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana. Teams finishing outside the automatic qualifying positions must await at-large selection.

Automatic Qualifying Teams

Regional champions are listed first, followed by runners-up. All teams below have secured automatic berths.

Region	Men’s automatic qualifiers	Women’s automatic qualifiers
Great Lakes	Toledo, Notre Dame	Toledo, Notre Dame
Mid-Atlantic	Villanova, Georgetown	West Virginia, Penn State
Midwest	Oklahoma State, Iowa State	Iowa State, Oklahoma State
Mountain	New Mexico, Colorado	New Mexico, Northern Arizona
Northeast	Syracuse, Harvard	Boston College, Providence
South	Alabama, Florida	Alabama, Florida
South Central	Tulane, Arkansas	Arkansas, SMU
Southeast	Wake Forest, Eastern Kentucky	NC State, South Carolina
West	Oregon, Washington	Oregon, Washington State

Toledo Delivers Historic Great Lakes Sweep

Toledo produced one of the day’s biggest stories by winning both Great Lakes team titles. Its previously unranked men scored 59 points to defeat Notre Dame by seven, securing the first NCAA Championships appearance in program history. The breakthrough followed a previous best regional finish of seventh last season.

The Toledo women were equally impressive, scoring 31 points to end Notre Dame’s five-year winning streak and claim their first regional crown. Karina James won in 19:55.2, leading a Toledo sweep of the first three positions, with all three athletes breaking 20 minutes.

Notre Dame advanced in both races, finishing with 66 points in the men’s competition and 60 in the women’s. Butler’s William Zegarski claimed the men’s individual title in 29:55.0, winning by 12.2 seconds.

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New Mexico Sweeps Mountain Titles as BYU Women Miss Automatic Berth

New Mexico reinforced its national ambitions with victories in both Mountain Region races. The top-ranked men overcame second-ranked Colorado, with Collins Kiprotich and Pasanjo Kitonga finishing second and third behind individual champion Titus Kimaru. Colorado secured the other automatic berth.

Pamela Kosgei led a New Mexico women’s sweep of the first three places, winning the 6km race in 19:08.3 ahead of teammates Mercy Kirarei and Marion Jepngetich. The Lobos scored 45 points to beat Northern Arizona’s 67.

Top-ranked BYU finished third with 81 points, leaving the Cougars dependent on an at-large invitation.

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West Virginia and Alabama Women Dominate

West Virginia delivered an outstanding Mid-Atlantic performance, placing its scoring runners first, second, third, fourth and ninth for just 19 points. The Mountaineers claimed their third consecutive regional title, while Penn State finished second with 83 to secure the other automatic berth.

Villanova won the men’s race with 39 points ahead of Georgetown’s 56. Bailey Habler and CJ Sullivan finished first and second for the Wildcats, while Georgetown’s five scorers crossed within just 0.6 seconds of one another.

Alabama swept the South Region team titles. Its women scored a meet-record 21 points through a 1-2-5-6-7 finish, led by Caren Kiplagat’s individual victory in 19:20.6. Florida finished second with 74 points.

The Alabama men won with 48 points, six ahead of Florida, which secured its first automatic berth since 2013. Kelvin Cheruiyot retained the individual title in 29:01.5.

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Oklahoma State and Iowa State Share Midwest Honors

Oklahoma State and Iowa State occupied the top two positions in both Midwest races, splitting the regional championships.

The Oklahoma State men earned their fourth consecutive title with 57 points, narrowly defeating Iowa State’s 61. Brian Musau won in 28:47.1, finishing 2.9 seconds ahead of teammate Denis Kipngetich.

Iowa State reversed the team order in the women’s race, scoring 72 points to Oklahoma State’s 91 for its first regional title since 2018. Oklahoma State’s Billah Jepkirui took the individual crown in 19:18.9, one second ahead of Iowa State’s Betty Kipkore, with Rosemary Longisa another tenth behind.

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Tight Qualifying Battles in Southeast and South Central

Eastern Kentucky secured one of the narrowest automatic qualifications of the day, finishing second in the Southeast men’s race with 104 points—just one ahead of Virginia Tech. Wake Forest retained the regional title with 72 points despite racing without Rocky Hansen. Louisville’s Elsingi Kipruto won individually in 28:20.3.

NC State extended its women’s regional winning streak to ten titles, scoring 71 points behind Hannah Gapes, who won in a course-record 18:42.2. South Carolina took second with 100 points to earn the other automatic berth.

Tulane retained the South Central men’s title with 44 points, four ahead of Arkansas. Arkansas’ Nick Busienei won the individual race in 28:57.1.

The Arkansas women won with 51 points, while SMU finished second with 109 to secure its first NCAA Championships appearance since 2013.

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Oregon Sweeps West; Syracuse and Boston College Win Northeast

Oregon claimed both West Region titles. The men scored 51 points ahead of Washington’s 110, with the Huskies holding off Stanford by five points for the second automatic position.

Diana Cherotich won the women’s race in 18:55.6, leading Oregon to victory with 38 points. Washington State secured second with 109, just three ahead of Boise State.

In the Northeast, Syracuse’s men won with 49 points ahead of Harvard’s 72, while Hofstra’s Frederick Kipkosgei retained the individual title in approximately 30:11.

Boston College won the women’s team competition with 51 points, holding off Providence by seven as both programs booked their places in Terre Haute.

With automatic qualification settled, attention now turns to the at-large selections before the nation’s leading collegiate distance runners contest the women’s 6km and men’s 10km championship races on November 21.

VIEW ALL RESULTS BY REGIONAL BELOW: