Postseason Begins Friday in Wisconsin - University of Oregon Athletics

Friday, October 30

Madison, WI

8:35 AM

University of Oregon

Big Ten Championships

Photo by: Rian Yamasaki

10/29/26 | Cross Country

Big Ten Championships Meet Central

The Men and Women of Oregon are the defending Big Ten cross country champions.

MADISON, Wis. – The Oregon cross country teams hit the postseason portion of their schedule Friday morning with the 2026 Big Ten Championships in Madison, Wis. The women's 6K will start at 8:35 a.m. PT followed by the men's 8K at 9:35 a.m. The meet will air live on the Big Ten Network.

The Ducks are the defending men's and women's team champions. Fans in Eugene can watch the Big Ten Championships from the Hayward Hall patio, accessing that area through the Hayward Hall doors starting at 8:15 a.m.

This will mark the 10^th time for Wisconsin to host the Big Ten Championships, most recently serving as host in 2023 at the Zimmer Championship Course.

Oregon Entries
M: Benjamin Balazs, Simeon Birnbaum, Evan Bishop, Connor Burns, Tayson Echohawk, Juan Gonzalez, Evan Jenkins, Connor McCormick, Xavier Perras-Phaneuf, Aiden Smith

W: Diana Cherotich, Juliet Cherubet, Dalia Frias, Landen LeBlond, Allura Markow, Kendall Martin, Ava Parekh, Sofia Thogersen, Ella Thorsett

Cherotich is the defending individual champion on the women's side, and is one of three returning all-Big Ten first teamers for the UO women along with Cherubet and Frias. The Oregon men return six all-conference selections from last fall including Bishop and Smith who ran their way onto the first team along with Balazs, Birnbaum, Burns and Echohawk who landed on the second team.

All-conference accolades are determined by individual finish with places one through 10 collecting first-team honors and places 11 through 20 named to the second team. First introduced at last year's meet, an all-freshman team will also be announced as part of the championship release following the event.

Shalane Flanagan, head coach for the UO women's cross country program, is the two-time reigning Big Ten Coach of the Year. Men's and women's athlete of the year honors will be announced following the NCAA Championships in late November.

Collectively, the Ducks have won 29 conference team titles—17 men, 12 women—in program history. Last year's UO sweep was the first leg of Oregon's Big Ten Triple Crown for the 2025-26 academic year. Oregon also has 27 individual titles—17 men, 10 women—spread among 19 runners.

Team Titles by the Years
M (17): 1969-70, '73, '76-79, '82, '88-90, '92, '95, '2006-08, '25
W: (12): 1986-88, '90-92, '95, 2012, '14, '18, '24-25

Ranked Teams in the Big Ten
M: #6 Oregon, #14 Wisconsin, #21 Minnesota, #22 Michigan State
W: #15 Oregon, #23 Northwestern, #25 Minnesota

Last Time Out
For a second-consecutive season, the Ducks swept the team and individual titles at the Bill Dellinger Invitational (Oct. 9). Cherotich became the first woman to win the meet twice while Birnbaum ran to victory in the men's field. In the first race of the day, the UO men placed four in the top 10 to finish ahead of Weber State, 28-42. The UO women, with five runners inside the top nine, out-ran the field with 25 points.

Up Next
The postseason continues in two weeks with the NCAA West Regional (Nov. 13) in Sacramento, Calif. The top-two teams in each race earn an automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Championships which will be contested Nov. 21 in Terre Haute, Ind. The entire NCAA Championships field including at-large teams and individuals will be announced following the regional meets.

For more news and information about Oregon cross country and track and field, follow @OregonTF on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.