JACKSONVILLE, Fla., - The United Athletic Conference (UAC) previews the 2026 Men’s and Women's Cross Country Championships that will be hosted by EKU in Richmond, Kentucky on October 30.
The women’s 5k championship will be held at 9 a.m. ET with the men’s 8k championship following at 9:45 a.m. ET. Both races will be broadcast on ESPN+.
The UAC women’s preseason favorite EKU was ranked 8th in the latest USTFCCCA Southwest Regional ranking and has claimed two individual championships in a couple of meets with nationally ranked teams. Freshman Brighter Jepchumba won the John McNichols Invitational (9/19), breaking the long-standing LaVern Gibson Championship Course record. UAC Preseason Women’s Runner of the Year Edna Chelulei won the Arturo Barrios Invite (10/16), defeating a field of 403 runners and leading the Colonels to a second-place team finish out of 48 teams.
The EKU men’s team is continuing its success off its 2025 ASUN championship by being ranked 17th in the latest USTFCCCA NCAA DI Men’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll and 2nd in the Southeast Regional ranking. The Colonels have competed in the John McNichols Invitational and the Nuttycomb Wisconsin Invitational (10/9) where EKU finished 12th and 11th, respectively, in fields full of nationally ranked teams. UAC Preseason Men’s Runner of the Year Taha Er Raouy collected two top-25 finishes in those meets, defeating over 200 competitors in each race.
UT Arlington was ranked 8th in the women’s South Central Regional with two top-five team finishes in three meets in the regular season. Dorcas Jepkosgei has highlighted the Mavericks 2026 season with an individual championship in the Gerald Richey UTA Invitational (9/11) along with top-five finishes in the 38th Annual Chile Pepper Festival (10/3) and the Arturo Barrios Invitational, where she broke program records in both meets.
The Mavericks have reentered into the men’s South Central top-15 regional rankings, checking in at 14th. The Mavericks won their home meet in the Gerald Richey Invitational and finished 7th out of 26 teams at the Arkansas Chile Pepper Festival. Toby Eaton and Mateo Doherty have been two of the top-three finishers for UTA in all three regular season meets this season.