Northern Arizona again sweeps Big Sky cross country championships; Montana State places 2nd

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — On their home course at Buffalo Park, the Northern Arizona men’s and women’s cross country programs continued their Big Sky Conference championship winning streaks, securing their sixth consecutive sweep of the league’s titles on Friday.

The men’s championship 8K was the first race of the day, which the No. 19 Lumberjacks dominated with a 20-point performance. Senior Erik Le Roux was the individual champion for Northern Arizona, crossing the finish line in 23 minutes, 50.9 seconds.

Northern Arizona’s men have now claimed six straight Big Sky titles.

The Lumberjacks placed seven men in the top 10, securing that many spots on the Big Sky all-conference team. They were joined by Weber State’s Jacob Peterson (third), Montana State’s Quinn Newman (fifth) and Montana’s Luke Mest (ninth). Mest is the first Grizzly to earn an all-conference spot in 15 years.

On the women’s side, the No. 5 Lumberjacks went even lower, scoring 16 points en route to their eighth consecutive Big Sky Conference title.

Ava Mitchell claimed the Big Sky individual championship with a time of 15:35.1, which put her nearly 20 seconds in front of the next-closest competitor.

Northern Arizona claimed the top four spots in the meet, with Idaho’s Constanze Paoli finishing fifth.

In total, the Lumberjacks had seven student-athletes on the Big Sky’s all-conference team.

Montana State placed second in both team races. Weber State, Southern Utah and Montana were the third-, fourth- and fifth-place finishers on the men's side. Idaho, Weber State and Southern Utah finished third, fourth and fifth in the women's team standings.

Full results can be viewed here.

2026 Men’s Cross Country Championship Team Results

1. No. 19 Northern Arizona, 20
2. Montana State, 71
3. Weber State, 79
4. Southern Utah, 93
5. Montana, 134
6. Idaho State, 183
7. Idaho, 202
8. Utah Tech, 208
9. Eastern Washington, 254
10. Northern Colorado, 315
11. Portland State, 317 

2026 Men’s Cross Country All-Conference Team

1. Erik Le Roux, Northern Arizona (23:50.9)
2. Rheinhardt Harrison, Northern Arizona (23:54.5)
3. Jacob Peterson, Weber State (23:56.8)
4. Ethan Godsey, Northern Arizona (23:59.5)
5. Quinn Newman, Montana State (24:02.0)
6. Ford Washburn, Northern Arizona (24:02.7)
7. Derebe Ayele, Northern Arizona (24:13.8)
8. Clay Shively, Northern Arizona (24:15.2)
9. Luke Mest, Montana (24:16.2)
10. Iker Sanchez Lopez, Northern Arizona (24:18.6)

2026 Men’s Individual Champion: Erik Le Roux, Northern Arizona
2026 Men’s Freshman of the Year: Derebe Ayele, Northern Arizona

2026 Women’s Cross Country Championship Team Results

1. No. 5 Northern Arizona, 16
2. Montana State, 77
3. Idaho, 97 (Won Tiebreaker)
4. Weber State, 97
5. Southern Utah, 136
6. Utah Tech, 156
7. Idaho State, 213
8. Eastern Washing, 228
9. Northern Colorado, 270
10. Montana, 282
11. Portland State, 304

2026 Women’s Cross Country All-Conference Team

1. Ava Mitchell, Northern Arizona (15:35.1)
2. Hayley Burns, Northern Arizona (15:55.0)
3. Addy Ritzenhein, Northern Arizona (15:58.4)
4. Emma Stutzman, Northern Arizona (15:59.7)
5. Constanze Paoli, Idaho (16:09.8)
6. Payton Godsey, Northern Arizona (16:14.7)
7. Makenzie McRae, Northern Arizona (16:22.2)
8. Jordan Banta, Northern Arizona (16:25.7)
9. Saga Hagelin, Weber State (16:30.0)
10. Alex Terry, Idaho (16:32.6)

2026 Women’s Individual Champion: Ava Mitchell, Northern Arizona
2026 Women’s Freshman of the Year: Addy Ritzenhein, Northern Arizona