Colorado
NCAA Mountain Region
November 13, 2026 | Cross Country
Women Take Fifth Place, Kurgat and Mathison Automatically Qualify For Nationals
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The No. 2 Colorado Buffaloes men's cross country team qualified for the NCAA Championships with a second-place finish at the Mountain Regional Championships on Friday morning.
Colorado men hold the record for the longest active streak of NCAA appearances with 35 consecutive appearances from 1992 to 2026.
"The men ran a great team race and are ready to get the job done in eight days at the NCAAs," CU Head Coach Sean Carlson said.
The No. 9 women took fifth place at regionals, led by Sheylah Kurgat and Abbey Mathison, who both automatically qualified to race at the NCAA Championships with their fifth and seventh place individual finishes.
"The women got the job done and are in a great position to have a good day at nationals," Carlson said.
Holly Barker recorded a personal best on New Mexico's course with a time of 20 minutes, 53.4 seconds. She raced 30 seconds faster than she did at last season's regional championship.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Women Up First
Kurgat led the Buffs from start to finish, moving from fifth to fourth place through the first 2.8 kilometers. Mathison was close behind in eighth place. Her positioning broke up a cluster of BYU Cougars while Kurgat battled to surpass a trio of New Mexico Lobos holding the first three spots.
Mathison crossed the 5.5K split at 18:23.0, moving to seventh place overall. Barker and Adrianna Buitelaar ran side by side as the Buffs' third and fourth finishers, while Bella Jacobsen and Rowan Saacke were within a few seconds of each other as Colorado's final point-scorer.
Kurgat crossed the finish line in fifth overall and Mathison finished in seventh as Colorado's first two finishers. Barker, Buitelaar and Jacobsen trickled in as the remainder of CU's top-five placements.
The Men Go Toe-to-Toe With New Mexico
As the men lined up and the gun went off, Colorado took an immediate lead with Jake Liebert pacing the Buffs and Isaiah Givens hot on his trail. The Buffs dominated through the first 2.8K as five of Colorado's runners came in the top 10. Dominic Serem filed in 11th place, staying close to CU's frontrunners.
As the Buffs neared the halfway mark, they took up second through sixth place. CU's opponents were nowhere near surpassing the lead as Colorado held a 37-point advantage over the second-place contender, New Mexico.
Serem made a massive jump from 11th to third place at the 6K mark to take the lead for the Buffs.
New Mexico clawed its way back with 3K remaining in the race, and the regional championship became a battle between the Buffs and the Lobos.
Liebert, Givens and Jack Graffeo clung to one another through the finish, but New Mexico inched into the first six placements to pass the Buffs.
Colorado secured a second-place finish to qualify for the NCAA Championships.
UP NEXT: The men will race at the NCAA Championships on Nov. 21 in Terre Haute, Ind. The NCAA Selection Show will take place on Saturday, Nov. 14, when the women will await a decision on a bid to nationals. The show will be streamed on ncaa.com at 3 p.m. MT.
2026 Mountain Regional Championships Results
Women's 6K Championship Race
1. New Mexico, 45; 2. Northern Arizona, 67; 3. BYU, 81; 4. Utah, 100; 5. Colorado, 103; 6. Wyoming, 183; 7. Utah State, 214; 8. Utah Valley, 228; 9. Montana State, 248; 10. Air Force, 261; 11. Colorado State, 331; 12. Weber State, 354; 13. New Mexico State, 364; 14. Texas Tech, 376; 15. Southern Utah, 378; 16. Nevada, 486; DNP. UTEP; DNP. Northern Colorado
Individuals
1. Pamela Kosgei, New Mexico, 19:08.3; 2. Mercy Kirarei, New Mexico, 19:11.6; 3. Marion Jepngetich, New Mexico, 19:24.0; 4. Taylor Lovell, BYU, 19:46.7; 5. Sheylah Kurgat, Colorado, 19:48.4…7. Abbey Mathison, Colorado, 20:01.7…26. Holly Barker, Colorado, 20:53.4…27. Adrianna Buitelaar, Colorado, 21:01.8…38. Bella Jacobsen, Colorado, 21:22.6…39. Rowan Saacke, Colorado, 21:25.1…56. Emma Hoffman, Colorado, 21:44.2
Men's 10K Mountain Regional Championship Results
1. New Mexico, 35; 2. Colorado, 42; 3. BYU, 65; 4. Northern Arizona, 101; 5. Air Force, 161; 6. Utah State, 203; 7. Montana State, 203; 8. Wyoming, 245; 9. Utah Valley, 273; 10. Colorado State, 297; 11. Weber State, 302; 12. Southern Utah, 319; 13. New Mexico State, 350; 14. Nevada, 377; 15. UTEP, 388; 16. Montana, 391; DNP. Texas Tech
Individuals
1. Titus Kimaru, Texas Tech, 28:41.9; 2. Collins Kiprotich, New Mexico, 28:50.2; 3. Pasanjo Kitonga, New Mexico, 28:51.9; 4. Dominic Serem, Colorado, 28:52.6; 5. Vincent Chirchir, New Mexico, 29:02.8…9. Jake Liebert, Colorado, 29:17.7; 10. Isaiah Givens, Colorado, 29:17.8; 11. Jack Graffeo, Colorado, 29:19.6…13. Tanner Newkirk, Colorado, 29:24.5; 14. Dean Casey, Colorado, 29:24.8...20. Lukas Haug, Colorado, 29:45.1
