ARLINGTON, Texas - For the second year in a row, California Baptist was selected as the pre-championship favorites on both the men's and women's side for the 2023 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Cross Country Championships taking place at Zoe Park in Abilene, Texas on October 27. The Lancers are looking to go back-to-back and defend their titles as they won both championships in 2022.

Southern Utah and Utah Valley swapped out the second and third spots in both polls, with Southern Utah receiving more votes for the men's poll and Utah Valley receiving more votes on the women's side. UT Arlington and Grand Canyon round out the top-five votes with the Mavericks taking fourth and the Lopes taking fifth in both polls.

2023 WAC CROSS COUNTRY PRE-CHAMPIONSHIPS POLLS
 
2023 WAC Men’s Cross Country Pre-Championship Coaches’ Poll
 

Rank	Team
1.	California Baptist
2.	Southern Utah
3.	Utah Valley
4.	UT Arlington
5.	Grand Canyon

2023 WAC Women’s Cross Country Pre-Championship Coaches’ Poll
 

Rank	Team
1.	California Baptist
2.	Utah Valley
3.	Southern Utah
4.	UT Arlington
5.	Grand Canyon

CBU LOOKING TO CONTINUE XC DYNASTY IN THE WAC
 
California Baptist has been dominant in the cross country realm for the Western Athletic Conference, winning the last three men’s championships and four women’s championships in the last five years. This year, CBU is looking for back-to-back sweeps after winning both titles at the 2022 WAC Cross Country Championships.
 
Last year, CBU covered four of the top six spots in the Women’s 6K race while also taking four of the top five spots in the Men’s 8K race, which included a CBU podium sweep. With the return and experience of Greta Karinauskaite, Yasna Petrova, Carlota Rodes, Arturs Medveds, and Giedrius Valincius, CBU looks to be a force at the upcoming WAC Championship meets.
 
CBU became the fourth men’s program in WAC history to win three consecutive team titles in cross country and look to be just the third program to win four consecutive men’s championships. On the women’s side, CBU became the third program to win four titles in five years and is on the hunt to become only the second program in WAC history to win five titles in a six-year span.
 
STRONG FALL FOR UTAH VALLEY WOMEN’S TEAM
 
The Utah Valley women’s program went a near perfect five-for-six on meets this season, placing first overall in all but one meet. Not only are the Wolverines winning their meets, but they’re also winning in dominating fashion and taking out top schools in the nation. UVU is averaging 49.7 points per meet and winning by an average of 56.8 points per meet.
 
Morgan Nokes, Ari Trimble, Abbie Fuhriman, Anna Martin, and Lydia Bues make up the heart of the UVU team as they combined for a total of two first-place finishes, eight top-five finishes, and 12 top-10 finishes in the four races they have all competed in. Nokes won the UVU Invitational and tallied three other top-eight finishes.
 
WAC IN THE NATIONAL, REGIONAL RANKINGS
 
California Baptist’s strong showings this year landed the men’s team fifth and women’s team 12^th in the USTFCCCA DI Men’s and Women’s Cross Country National Coaches Poll that was released on October 17. The Lancers’ men’s and women’s teams also placed first and fourth in the West Region, respectively.
 
The Utah Valley women’s program was ranked 27^th in the National Coaches Poll and sixth in the Mountain Region after winning a majority of their meets throughout the year. The Southern Utah men’s team has worked its way up to ninth in the Mountain Region, as Utah Valley is just behind the Thunderbirds in the region in 13^th. UT Arlington has also recorded a 13^th place rank in the men’s South Central Region, while the women’s program placed eighth in the region.
 
FRESHMAN ON THE RISE
 
Matro Jepkemboi of UT Arlington is quickly making a name for herself in the cross country world. The freshman from Eldoret, Kenya has already accumulated two WAC Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week awards and has finished in the top six in all four meets she’s competed in, two of those being Texas A&M Invitationals and one being the Chile Pepper Invitational hosted by Arkansas.