Saturday, October 31
Riverside, CA
California Baptist University
vs
Big West Conference Championship
10/31/2026 11:51:00 AM | Cross Country & Track
RIVERSIDE – CBU claimed its first Big West Cross Country Championship on Saturday, as the Lancer men captured the 2026 conference title, highlighted by junior Pedro Marin's first-place finish, while the women secured a runner-up finish.
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The men claimed the championship with 28 points, narrowly edging Utah Valley (33 points) for the title. Three Lancers finished in the top four, led by Marin, who won the individual title in his first Big West Championship appearance. He crossed the finish line in a meet-record time of 23:07.8, setting a new personal best.
Sophomore Yemane Mulugeta followed in second place with a personal-best time of 23:14.8. Junior Itumeleng Ngxabazi finished fourth in 23:24.2, also setting a new personal best.
Freshman Nicolai Martino rounded out the top 10, placing 10th in 23:44.4 to record another personal best. Junior Gabriel Guzman finished 11th in 23:45.4, also earning a personal best and completing the scoring five for the Lancers.
"With this being our first year in the Big West, this title meant something," said head coach Sean Smith. "Our whole team knew this meant a lot for the program and for our school & seeing the kids pour their hearts into this race was something special. The depth in this conference is much better than the WAC and Utah Valley has been on a tear this year so we knew we would have our hands full. On the mens side, we knew Sila from Utah Valley would be a threat but felt if Pedro, Yemane and Itumeleng ran well it would secure some things on the team side. Seeing Pedro not only win the title, but also break the conference record was fun. Many don't know but that was his first ever win in a cross country race! Yemane and Itumeleng have both been so solid for us and improved drastically from last year. Honestly, Nico and Gabriel stepping up was huge as they finished ahead of UVU's 5th and those were some of the best races they have had. We needed that. Without them, we might have lost."Â
This marks the men's first Big West Championship, their seventh Division I-era title and 12th conference championship in program history. The Lancers also secured their seventh consecutive conference championship.
On the women's side, CBU finished second overall with 63 points. Freshman Fatima Mena led the Lancers with a third-place finish in 19:44.0, setting a new personal best. Junior Helena Mees followed closely in fifth place with a personal-best time of 19:51.5.
Junior Karolina Bliujute also earned a top-10 finish, placing 10th in 20:17.9 with a new personal best. Junior Keely Bradle finished 16th in 20:28.1, while junior Ana Mees rounded out the Lancers' scoring five with a 29th-place finish in 20:47.8.
"The women really fought hard and the reality is that UVU just had us on the depth," said Smith. "Fatima was incredible and that might be the fastest CBU has ever run on that course. Helena also had a massive run and seeing those two ahead of UVU's #2 was something we needed to have happen. Karolina probably had the race of her life and managed to catch UVU's #3 which was also part of the plan. Keely was in great position and fought hard. The reality was we just didn't have an answer for UVU's 5th runner and we just have to tip our hat to them. I know our women are already getting ready for 364 days from now. Fatima and Helena put themselves in a position to possibly be in the hunt for an at large spot to NCAA after those runs."
Full meet results can be found HERE.
The Lancers will now turn their attention to the NCAA West Regionals, set for Nov. 13 in Sacramento, as they continue their postseason competition following a historic Big West Championship performance.
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The men claimed the championship with 28 points, narrowly edging Utah Valley (33 points) for the title. Three Lancers finished in the top four, led by Marin, who won the individual title in his first Big West Championship appearance. He crossed the finish line in a meet-record time of 23:07.8, setting a new personal best.
Sophomore Yemane Mulugeta followed in second place with a personal-best time of 23:14.8. Junior Itumeleng Ngxabazi finished fourth in 23:24.2, also setting a new personal best.
Freshman Nicolai Martino rounded out the top 10, placing 10th in 23:44.4 to record another personal best. Junior Gabriel Guzman finished 11th in 23:45.4, also earning a personal best and completing the scoring five for the Lancers.
"With this being our first year in the Big West, this title meant something," said head coach Sean Smith. "Our whole team knew this meant a lot for the program and for our school & seeing the kids pour their hearts into this race was something special. The depth in this conference is much better than the WAC and Utah Valley has been on a tear this year so we knew we would have our hands full. On the mens side, we knew Sila from Utah Valley would be a threat but felt if Pedro, Yemane and Itumeleng ran well it would secure some things on the team side. Seeing Pedro not only win the title, but also break the conference record was fun. Many don't know but that was his first ever win in a cross country race! Yemane and Itumeleng have both been so solid for us and improved drastically from last year. Honestly, Nico and Gabriel stepping up was huge as they finished ahead of UVU's 5th and those were some of the best races they have had. We needed that. Without them, we might have lost."Â
This marks the men's first Big West Championship, their seventh Division I-era title and 12th conference championship in program history. The Lancers also secured their seventh consecutive conference championship.
On the women's side, CBU finished second overall with 63 points. Freshman Fatima Mena led the Lancers with a third-place finish in 19:44.0, setting a new personal best. Junior Helena Mees followed closely in fifth place with a personal-best time of 19:51.5.
Junior Karolina Bliujute also earned a top-10 finish, placing 10th in 20:17.9 with a new personal best. Junior Keely Bradle finished 16th in 20:28.1, while junior Ana Mees rounded out the Lancers' scoring five with a 29th-place finish in 20:47.8.
"The women really fought hard and the reality is that UVU just had us on the depth," said Smith. "Fatima was incredible and that might be the fastest CBU has ever run on that course. Helena also had a massive run and seeing those two ahead of UVU's #2 was something we needed to have happen. Karolina probably had the race of her life and managed to catch UVU's #3 which was also part of the plan. Keely was in great position and fought hard. The reality was we just didn't have an answer for UVU's 5th runner and we just have to tip our hat to them. I know our women are already getting ready for 364 days from now. Fatima and Helena put themselves in a position to possibly be in the hunt for an at large spot to NCAA after those runs."
Full meet results can be found HERE.
The Lancers will now turn their attention to the NCAA West Regionals, set for Nov. 13 in Sacramento, as they continue their postseason competition following a historic Big West Championship performance.
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