COLUMBIA, Mo. – Utah Valley’s Morgan Nokes, the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year, added one more achievement to her 2025 season at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships on Saturday at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course.

Nokes finished the women’s championship 6K with a time of 19:10.4 in 23rd place, capturing All-America honors for the first time in her career. Nokes’ finish was the 21st top-25 individual women’s result for the WAC at the NCAA national meet since 1990, with Nokes joining former Utah Valley standout Everlyn Kemboi (19th place in 2022) as the only women’s cross country All-America runners in program history.

Also competing unattached in the women’s 6K championship was UT Arlington’s Dorcas Jepkosgei, as the WAC Women’s Freshman Athlete of the Year closed her debut season in 136th place with a time of 20:08.9.

In the men’s championship 10K, California Baptist finished in 25th place as the number 15 seed in the competition after scoring 577 points. WAC Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year Valentin Soca led the Lancers in 108th place with a time of 29:39.5, with Brett Rushman (121st, 29:46.2), Pedro Marin (138th, 29:52.2), Ernesto Ruiz (170th, 30:12.3) and Victor Rosas (171st, 30:13.1) adding point scoring runs for CBU.

Competing unattached in the men’s 10K championship, WAC Men’s Freshman Athlete of the Year Sila Kiplagat from Utah Valley posted a time of 29:51.1 to finish in 135th place in his NCAA nationals debut. 

WAC Cross Country Representatives At The 2025 NCAA DI Championships
November 22
Gans Creek Cross Country Course
Columbia, Missouri

WOMEN’S 6K CHAMPIONSHIP
Unattached
23. Morgan Nokes, Utah Valley, (19:10.4; All-America)
136. Dorcas Jepkosgei, UT Arlington (20:08.9)

MEN’S 10K CHAMPIONSHIP
25. California Baptist (577 points)
108. Valentin Soca (29:39.5)
121. Brett Rushman (29:46.2)
138. Pedro Marin (29:52.2)
170. Ernesto Ruiz (30:12.3)
171. Victor Rosas (30:13.1)
219. Gabriel Guzman (30:41.3)
231. Finn Anspach (31:06.4)

Unattached
135. Sila Kiplagat, Utah Valley (29:51.1)