LA JOLLA, Calif. — UC San Diego will compete in the 2026 Big West Cross Country Championships this week, returning to the campus of UC Riverside to race, beginning at 8:30 am on Saturday, Oct. 31.
 
UC Riverside will host this year's event at the UCR Agricultural Operations Course. Tickets are available for online and in-person purchase. Individual and team conference championships will be crowned for both the men and women, with the top 10 runners in each race named to the All-Conference Team.
 
The Tritons are in their third year of Division I postseason eligibility. At last year's Big West Championships, Sylvana Northrop '26 became the first Triton in the Division I era to win an individual championship. The women placed third, and the men placed sixth.

RACE DETAILS
Meet 5 – Big West Championships
Saturday, Oct. 31 | Riverside, Calif.
Men's 8000 – 8:30 a.m. | Women's 6000 – 9:15 a.m.
Forecast: Cloudy and cool with a chance of light rain or showers, temperatures starting around 56°F.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Tritons closed the regular season strong with an individual win at the Highlander Invitational, captured by Elle Marsyla. The Triton women finished second at the meet with 117 points, the men placed fifth with 154.
 
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Tritons will also compete in the NCAA West Regional Championships on Nov. 13 in Sacramento. The Regional Championships serve as qualifiers for select teams to advance to the NCAA Championships, which will be on Nov. 21 in Terre Haute, Indiana.
 
UP NEXT
The Tritons will travel north to Sacramento to compete in the NCAA West regional Championships on Friday, Nov. 13.
 
THE TRITONS
The women's team features 20 scholar-athletes, 16 returners and four newcomers. Joining the squad are three incoming freshmen: Avery Carlson, Anna Desormeau, Delaney Napierala, and one graduate transfer: Elle Marsyla.
 
The men's team features 14 scholar-athletes, ten returners and four newcomers. Joining the squad are three incoming freshmen: Wyatt Boling, Ryan Chen, Marco Franco, and one graduate transfer: Ben Borchers.
California is home for 28 of the 34 runners. Only one is a transfer, the rest joined the Tritons out of high school. There are two graduate students, seven seniors, seven juniors, nine sophomores and seven freshmen.
 
MEET THE COACHES
Head coach Nate Garcia '00 is back for his 20th season at the helm of Triton cross country and 25th as a member of the coaching staff. He was a four-year letter-winner in both cross country and track at UC San Diego from 1996 to 2000. Garcia is assisted by Meriah Earle, who is in her fifth season with the Tritons. Earle ran both track and cross country at San Diego State, graduating in 2001.
 
WHY THE TRITONS?
The Triton is described as the offspring of Poseidon and Amphitrite, a demigod of the sea with a lower part of the body like that of a fish. It is known as a mighty and fierce sea warrior. Given UC San Diego's close proximity to the Pacific Ocean and its connections with the world-famous Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Triton became our mascot in 1964.

TRITON CROSS COUNTRY TALK
As part of UC San Diego's transition to Division I, the Athletics Department launched a weekly podcast, Tritoncast. New episodes of Tritoncast are available on the most popular podcasting apps and on UCSDTritons.com. For individual show information and listen links, follow Tritoncast on X @Tritoncast.

GET SOCIAL WITH UC SAN DIEGO CROSS COUNTRY
Keep up with the Tritons all season long on social media through X, Facebook and Instagram. The team's handle is @ucsdxc.

FOR THE YOUNGER CROWD
Got some young Triton fans in your family? If they are eighth grade or under, check out the Junior Triton Club. Membership includes a free t-shirt, admission to over 100 UC San Diego home athletic events and much more!

GEAR
For the latest Triton apparel and accessories, click here.

About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program has begun a new era as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 24-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 39 have garnered prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in NCAA Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.