FARMINGTON, Utah (Oct. 27, 2026) – The 2026 Big Sky Conference Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships will take place on Friday at Buffalo Park in Flagstaff, Arizona. The meet will be hosted by Northern Arizona University.
The Lumberjacks will be looking for a sixth-consecutive sweep of the Big Sky XC titles on their home course.
Men’s Recent Championship History
Entering Friday’s race, Northern Arizona will be seeking their sixth-consecutive Big Sky team title, winning every championship race dating back to 2021.
Individually, the Lumberjacks have had the top finisher at every Big Sky Championship since 2016, marking 10-consecutive active years with the individual champion. That group includes Futsum Zienasellassie, Tyler Day, Matt Baxter, Drew Bosley (x2), Abdihamid Nur, Nico Young (x2), David Mullarkey and Colin Sahlman.
Last season, the Northern Arizona men scored 20 points to secure the team title. Weber State finished in second with 58 points, followed by Montana State with 76.
The last team to win a Big Sky Conference title in men’s cross country other than Northern Arizona was Southern Utah in the Spring of 2021.
Women’s Recent Championship History
The Northern Arizona women have won seven-straight Big Sky Conference team titles dating back to 2019. In both 2023 and 2024 the Lumberjacks scored just 15 points, and last season they scored 16 points.
The Lumberjacks have secured six-consecutive individual titles, with a group that includes Taryn O’Neill (x2), Elise Stearns (x2), Ali Upshaw and Hayley Burns.
Burns is projected to be back on the course this week, looking to defend her individual title.
The last team to win a Big Sky Conference title in women’s cross country other than Northern Arizona was Southern Utah in 2018.
Updated National Rankings (Oct. 20)
The NAU women will enter the meet as the No. 5 team in the NCAA, according to the latest USTFCCCA Women’s Cross Country National Poll. They only trail No. 1 BYU, No. NC State, No. 3 West Virginia and No. 4 Florida in the rankings.
On the men’s side, the Lumberjacks will enter the meet ranked amongst the top-20 nationally, as they’re slotted at No. 19.
Women’s National Rankings
5. Northern Arizona
Men’s National Rankings
19. Northern Arizona
Updated Regional Rankings (Oct. 19)
In the most updated USTFCCCA Region Rankings, the Big Sky had four teams appear on both the men’s and women’s side.
On the men’s side, after Northern Arizona in the ranking is the Montana State Bobcats and No. 6 in the NCAA Mountain Region. The Bobcats are paced by Sam Ells, who was Big Sky Conference Men’s XC Athlete of the Week three times during the course of the regular season.
Men’s Mountain Region
4. Northern Arizona
6. Montana State
8. Weber State
12. Southern Utah
Women’s Mountain Region
2. Northern Arizona
10. Montana State
11. Weber State
15. Southern Utah
Race Times
Men's Championship 8K - 10:00 a.m. MST
Women's Championship 5K - 11:00 a.m. MST
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