UC Davis cross country teams end the season in 11th and 12th place
By (Abigail DeSa) — sports@theaggie.org
The UC Davis cross country teams closed out the season with strong finishes at National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) West Regional Championships in Colfax, Washington, with the women’s team taking 11th place and the men’s team taking 12th in their respective competitions. Despite the chilly weather, all 13 Davis athletes brought the heat and put their best feet forward.
Dani Barrett, a fourth-year wildlife, fish & conservation biology major, earned a spot on the All-Region team due to her performance — an achievement reserved for the top 25 runners in the region.
With a time of 19:55, Barrett placed 18th among 262 competitors, falling short of 17th place by 1.5 seconds. Barrett’s run also matched pace with her career-high time of 19:53:6 — a time that won her fourth place at the 2024 Big West Championships.
Barrett has had a remarkable fourth season as a UC Davis Aggie: she set new personal records (PRs) and has pushed her limits, with this year being her second time in the top 25 of West Regionals. Last year, Barrett placed 22nd with a time of 20:05:5, a slower time than her performance in this year’s Regional Championships. Barrett’s success at the 2024 West Regionals marks an over 10-second growth.
Coming close behind Barrett on the West Regionals stage was Maddie Kackley, a fourth-year managerial economics major. Kackley placed 36th, clocking in at 20:30:5. While this time is 30 seconds slower than her performance at this year’s Big West Championships, Kackley’s time is still impressive and has also seen great improvement throughout the season.
The next Aggie to cross the finish line for the women’s team was Hope Bergmark, a third-year human development major, who placed 88th. Bergmark was followed by Fiona McGrath, a first-year biochemistry and molecular biology major, who secured 102nd place, Stormy Wallace, a third-year biomedical engineering major, in 129th place, Kayla Rutz, a third-year managerial economics major, in 136th place, and Lauren Villegas, a first-year communications major, in 149th place.
The men’s cross country team had a successful competition as well with five out of seven Aggies making it in the top 90 runners. This was also the longest race of their season, with the majority of the team running a distance of 10k rather than their usual 8k. Out of 32 teams, UC Davis claimed 12th place in the men’s bracket.
Competing in his first 10k with the Aggies, third-year Muhammed Ahmed was the first person in the UC Davis team to cross the finish line. Ahmed completed the race in 46th place with a time of 30:02. Following Ahmed was third-year Ethan Brooks coming in at 30:48:5 in 71st place. Brooks completed the race only about 7.5 seconds slower than his PR the previous year.
In 79th place for the Aggies was Chris Coles, a third-year biochemistry and molecular biology major, marking his third time competing on the West Regionals stage. In the competition, Coles set a new PR time at 30:57:2 in the 10k. Just nine seconds behind Cole was Michael Cooper, a third-year political science major, who landed in 82nd place for the team.
The next athletes for UC Davis to cross the finish line were Nick Herrmann, a second-year political science major, in 86th place, Zachary Graeber, a third-year computer science and engineering major, in 128th place, and second-year Donavan Cheruiyot in 143rd place. All Aggies for the men’s team landed in the top 150, with five athletes making it to the top 90.
The UC Davis cross country team made a strong impression at the West Regional Championships, being the first University of California school to cross the finish line in this competition for the women’s category and second for the men’s. Running against the most elite athletes in the country, the Aggies claimed 11th and 12th and showcased their years of training and hours of hard work.
At the final stage of the season for the Aggies, the athletes left it all on the Colfax course. Off-season training will begin shortly, with many athletes looking to track and field competitions in the spring. With many new PRs and achievements, the UC Davis cross country team has completed their season and will now hope to run even faster and farther in future seasons.
By (Abigail DeSa) — sports@theaggie.org
