PRIMER: Big 12 Cross Country Championships

Iowa State cross country competes at the 2026 Big 12 Cross Championships in Stillwater at the Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course. The Cyclone women enter the race as the nation's 18^th-ranked team while the men are 20^th.

Big 12 Championships
Saturday, October 31
Women's 6K | 10:00 a.m.
Men's 8K | 11:00 a.m.

Last Time Out
The Cyclones ran at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational on October 9. Betty Kipkore led the women to a top 10 team finish as the 6k runner up. Kipkore ran the fourth-fastest time (19:19.6) in Wisconsin Invitational history and was tabbed the Big 12 Runner of the Week on October 13 for her performance. The ISU men finished in the top 20 of the team race, competing against five other top 10-ranked teams at the invitational.

The Field at the Big 12 Championships
The women's field:

No. 1 BYU
No. 3 West Virginia
No. 7 Oklahoma State
No. 10 Colorado
No. 16 Utah
No. 18 Iowa State
Arizona
Arizona State
Baylor
Cincinnati
Houston
Kansas
Kansas State
TCU
Texas Tech
UCF

The men's field:

No. 2 Oklahoma State
No. 3 Colorado
No. 5 BYU
No. 20 Iowa State
No. 28 Arizona
Arizona State
Baylor
Cincinnati
Houston
Kansas
Kansas State
TCU
Texas Tech

The Course
The Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course underwent a multi-million dollar renovation in preparation for the 2019 Midwest Regional and the 2020 NCAA Cross Country Championships. The course also hosted the 2021 Big 12 Championships, 2022 NCAA Cross Country Championships and 2023 NCAA Midwest Regional Championship races.

The course was lengthened to 10K and offers four other different loop configurations for the runners: 8K, 6K, 5K and 2K. In competition, the men will run the 10K loop, while the women will run the 6K route. The setup of the course provides unique training opportunities for the teams. The straightaway to the finish box is designed with mounds on each side of the course to offer a view from above, as well as views of multiple race areas.

What to Watch For

The All-American quartet of Robin Kwemoi Bera, Meshack Kimutai, Rodgers Kiplimo and Joash Ruto are expected to lead the Cyclone men against a field of Big 12 opponents that includes three top-five teams.
Kipkore will team up with Mercy Kibet and Rosemary Longisa to lead the Cyclone women against a loaded women's field. Longisa finished 10^th at Nuttycombe while Kibet was 22^nd to help the Iowa State front pack.

Players Mentioned

Robin Kwemoi Bera

Mercy Kibet

Meshack Kimutai

Betty Kipkore

Rodgers Kiplimo

Rosemary Longisa

Joash Ruto

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics

Related News