The Aggies take home a first-place title thanks to Muhammed Ahmed
BY DANIELLE WIRNOWSKI — sports@theaggie.org
Queen Kapiolani Regional Park in Honolulu, Hawaii hosted the Big West Cross Country Championship on Oct. 31, 2025.
The park welcomed the following 10 universities from California and one from Hawai’i: California Polytechnic San Luis Obispo, California State University Bakersfield, California State University Fullerton, California State University Northridge, Long Beach State University, University of California Irvine, University of California Riverside, University of California San Diego, University of California Santa Barbara, University of California Davis and University of Hawai’i.
The last time the University of Hawai’i hosted the Big West Cross Country Championship was in 2016, at the Kahuku Golf Course in Kahuku, Hawaii.
The men’s cross country race was scheduled for 7:30 a.m. Hawaii Standard Time (HST). The women’s race took place at 8:30 a.m. HST, with the awards ceremony following at 9:30 a.m. HST.
While the Big West Cross Country Championship features an individual race, rather than a relay, there are still individual and team champions present from each university.
The men’s 8K race featured nine out of the 11 schools in the Big West, each bringing around 10 runners. There were a total of 80 runners for the men’s race, with only two runners not finishing the race.
Meanwhile, the women’s 6K had all 11 schools participating, with each school bringing no less than seven runners. The total runners for this race were 94, with two runners, similar to the men’s 8K, unable to finish the race.
UC Davis brought 10 runners for each of the races, giving them more opportunities to finish higher in rankings. Typically, bringing more runners can increase a team’s score, as well as their ability to place within the top 10 rankings for individuals.
In the men’s 8K race, three runners placed in the top 10: Muhammed Ahmed, a fourth-year human development major; Chris Coles, a fourth-year biochemistry major; and Donavan Cheruiyot, a third-year neurobiology, physiology and behavior major.
These three players increased the team’s score to a total of 47 points, putting UC Davis in No. 2 ranking among all competing teams.
Ahmed placed No. 1 with a 24:14.2 minute running time for the Aggies. Cole finished No. 5 with a 24:33.3 running time and Cheruiyot finished No. 10 with a 24:40.2 running time.
Ahmed is the first UC Davis Aggie to finish No. 1 in the individual men’s Big West Championship since 2017.
For the women’s 6K race, only one Aggie finished in the top 10; Fiona McGrath, a third-year biochemistry and molecular biology major, finished No.9 for the Aggies with a run time of 21:37.8. Meanwhile, Stormy Wallace, a fourth-year biomedical engineering major, finished No. 12 with a run time of 21:48.3.
The UC Davis women’s team finished No. 4 overall with a score of 119, trailing just behind UC San Diego, which had 82 points overall.
Next up, the Aggies are set to participate in the NCAA West Regionals on Nov. 14 at 10 a.m. in Sacramento, California.
Written by: Danielle Wirnowski — sports@theaggie.org
