Friday, October 30
Richmond, KY
University of Texas Arlington
vs
UAC Championships
10/29/2026 9:00:00 AM | Cross Country
RICHMOND, Ky. – The postseason has arrived for UT Arlington cross country. The Mavericks are set to compete in the UAC Cross Country Conference Championship beginning with the women's 5k at 8 a.m. CST Friday. The men's 8k will immediately follow at 8:45 a.m.
The UAC Cross Country Championship is hosted by Eastern Kentucky at The University Club at Arlington in Richmond, Kentucky. This will be UTA's first season competing for the UAC conference championship. The Mavericks ran at the WAC Championship in 2025, the women finishing third as a team and the men finishing fourth.
UTA wrapped up the regular season with a packed meet at the Arturo Barrios Invitational. The women's team finished 15th out of nearly 50 teams that recorded a team score. The men's side finished 22nd out of over 40 that competed.Â
For the Mavericks individually, Dorcas Jepkosgei claimed her second program record in as many meets, clocking a 19:25.7 in the women's 6k. The UTA sophomore broke her own record in the 5k at the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival the meet prior to the Arturo Barrios.Â
Jepkosgei broke the UTA 6k record — a time of 19:49.2 set by teammate Matro Jepkemboi at the 2023 Arturo Barrios Invitational — and ultimately finished fifth individually out of a field of over 400 runners.
The four runners in front of Jepkosgei at the time were ranked 58th or better in the USTFCCCA Division I Cross Country Rating Index — or XCRI — where Jepkosgei herself ranked 102nd. Jepkosgei finished second among runners in the South Central Region, behind only Arkansas' Isca Chelangat.Â
On the men's side, Toby Eaton and Mateo Doherty once again led the way for UTA. The duo finished back-to-back, Eaton placing 57th overall and Doherty finishing on his heels in 58th in the 8k.
While the pairing each barely missed out on going sub-24:00, they each did set personal-bests in the event. Eaton finished at 24:01 while Doherty clocked a 24:01.8.
The Arturo Barrios gave UTA a look at other teams in the UAC that the Mavericks will face off against in Friday's conference championship races. UTA was selected to finish second in both the men's and women's UAC cross country preseason polls, each slotting behind Eastern Kentucky in the top spot.
EKU also competed at the Arturo Barrios against UTA. The Colonels finished second as a team in the women's 6k with a total of 122 and placed three runners in the top 10 individually. The Colonels did not feature a full lineup in the men's 8k, but did have one runner — Brian Kimutai — finish eighth in the event individually.
In the Division I XCRI, the Colonels have two runners ranked in the top 100 on the women's side in Brighter Jepchumba (No. 6 Overall) and Edna Chelulei (No. 17). EKU has one on the men's list in Taha Er Raouy (No. 16).Â
Central Arkansas also figures to be a factor at the event. The Bears were picked third in their own right in both the men's and women's preseason polls.
UTA will utilize a full lineup in the conference championship.
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INSIDE THE LINEUP
Women
Date: Oct. 30, 2026
Women's 5K / 8 a.m.
Men's 8K / 8:45 a.m.
Location: The University Club at Arlington: Richmond, Ky.
Live Results
Watch: Women's 5K
Watch: Men's 8K
-- #BuckEm –
FOLLOW ALONG
Follow the UTA track and field and cross-country teams on X (@UTAMavsTFXC), Instagram (@UTAMavsTFXC) and Facebook (/UTAMavsTFXC).Â
The UAC Cross Country Championship is hosted by Eastern Kentucky at The University Club at Arlington in Richmond, Kentucky. This will be UTA's first season competing for the UAC conference championship. The Mavericks ran at the WAC Championship in 2025, the women finishing third as a team and the men finishing fourth.
UTA wrapped up the regular season with a packed meet at the Arturo Barrios Invitational. The women's team finished 15th out of nearly 50 teams that recorded a team score. The men's side finished 22nd out of over 40 that competed.Â
For the Mavericks individually, Dorcas Jepkosgei claimed her second program record in as many meets, clocking a 19:25.7 in the women's 6k. The UTA sophomore broke her own record in the 5k at the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival the meet prior to the Arturo Barrios.Â
Jepkosgei broke the UTA 6k record — a time of 19:49.2 set by teammate Matro Jepkemboi at the 2023 Arturo Barrios Invitational — and ultimately finished fifth individually out of a field of over 400 runners.
The four runners in front of Jepkosgei at the time were ranked 58th or better in the USTFCCCA Division I Cross Country Rating Index — or XCRI — where Jepkosgei herself ranked 102nd. Jepkosgei finished second among runners in the South Central Region, behind only Arkansas' Isca Chelangat.Â
On the men's side, Toby Eaton and Mateo Doherty once again led the way for UTA. The duo finished back-to-back, Eaton placing 57th overall and Doherty finishing on his heels in 58th in the 8k.
While the pairing each barely missed out on going sub-24:00, they each did set personal-bests in the event. Eaton finished at 24:01 while Doherty clocked a 24:01.8.
The Arturo Barrios gave UTA a look at other teams in the UAC that the Mavericks will face off against in Friday's conference championship races. UTA was selected to finish second in both the men's and women's UAC cross country preseason polls, each slotting behind Eastern Kentucky in the top spot.
EKU also competed at the Arturo Barrios against UTA. The Colonels finished second as a team in the women's 6k with a total of 122 and placed three runners in the top 10 individually. The Colonels did not feature a full lineup in the men's 8k, but did have one runner — Brian Kimutai — finish eighth in the event individually.
In the Division I XCRI, the Colonels have two runners ranked in the top 100 on the women's side in Brighter Jepchumba (No. 6 Overall) and Edna Chelulei (No. 17). EKU has one on the men's list in Taha Er Raouy (No. 16).Â
Central Arkansas also figures to be a factor at the event. The Bears were picked third in their own right in both the men's and women's preseason polls.
UTA will utilize a full lineup in the conference championship.
Â
INSIDE THE LINEUP
Women
- Dorcas Jepkosgei finished in the top five in all three regular season meets. She set two program records and won the women's 5k at the Gerald Richey UTA Invitational.
- Jepkosgei is the Mavericks highest-ranked runner on the Division I XCRI, coming in at 107th place.
- At the 2025 WAC Cross Country Championships, Jepkosgei finished second individually in the women's 6k.
- Matro Jepkemboi clocked a 20:41.4 in the 6k at the Arturo Barrios. She was the second Maverick across the line and 61st runner overall.
- Jepkemboi finished fourth overall in the 6k at the 2025 WAC Championship.
- Connie Chiptoo Ndiema capped off the regular season with another solid outing, finishing within five seconds of Jepkemboi and placing 68th.
- Lauren Baur was the fourth UTA runner to finish at the Arturo Barrios. The senior finished with a time of 21:39.6, nearly 40 seconds better than her previous personal best.
- Baur set new personal-best times in all three regular season meets, the only UTA athlete this season to do so.
- Emilia Mandl set a new personal best of her own at the Arturo Barrios, running the 6k in 21:54.2.
- Abigail Perez and Justina Lusby make their returns to the lineup after missing the Arturo Barrios. Sophia Hamdani competed but did not finish.
- Perez, Lusby and Hamdani all finished within two seconds of each other at the Chile Pepper Festival. Perez ran an 18:12.1, finishing 86th, Lusby finished close behind with a time of 18:13.3 in 89th and Hamdani ran an 18:14.3 to finish 91st.
- Lusby's time of 18:13.3 set a new personal best.
- Toby Eaton was the top finish for UTA for the second meet in a row with his 57th place at the Arturo Barrios. Eaton finished top three among Mavericks in all three regular season meets.Â
- Eaton finished in the top 15 in his first two events of the season. He set personal bests in both the 5k and 8k.
- Eaton finished 15th in the 8k at the WAC Championship in 2025, the best placement on the team
- Mateo Doherty finished first or second on the team in all three regular season meets. Doherty finished eight tenths of a second behind Eaton at the Arturo Barrios, placing 58th with a personal-best time of 24:01.8.
- Doherty placed 26th at the 2025 WAC Championship with a time of 24:47.9.
- Kebede Kerlin was the third Maverick to cross the finish line for the second meet in a row. He set a new personal-best time of 24:48.1. He finished 142nd overall in a field of over 370 runners.
- Angel Sanchez made his return to the lineup after missing the Chile Pepper Festival. The sophomore finished with a time of 25:05.9.
- Sanchez finished second overall at the Gerald Richey UTA Invitational, narrowly losing out to Doherty. The sophomore finished third on the team at the 2025 WAC Championship.
- Jameson Stewart rounded out UTA's team score, running the 8k at the Arturo Barrios in a personal-best 25:30.4.
- Just behind Stewart, Lucas Whitt wrapped up his second collegiate 8k with an over 40-second improvement on his time in the same event at the Chile Pepper Festival. Whitt ran the race in 25:50.2.
- Leo LeGrand and Daniel Armstong capped off the UTA lineup. LeGrand ended the day with a time of 26:28.2, six tenths of a second off of his time in the same race at the Chile Pepper Festival
- Armstrong competed in just his second cross country meet as a Maverick, the other also being the Arturo Barrios Invitational in 2024. Armstrong clocked a 27:40.7.
Date: Oct. 30, 2026
Women's 5K / 8 a.m.
Men's 8K / 8:45 a.m.
Location: The University Club at Arlington: Richmond, Ky.
Live Results
Watch: Women's 5K
Watch: Men's 8K
-- #BuckEm –
Follow the UTA track and field and cross-country teams on X (@UTAMavsTFXC), Instagram (@UTAMavsTFXC) and Facebook (/UTAMavsTFXC).Â
Players Mentioned
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
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/ Cross Country
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/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
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