On the first day of November, WSU cross country headed north to Spokane and dominated the WCC Championships. The two squads combined for four podium finishes and two historic championship wins. 

For the women’s squad, they snagged their first conference championship in program history. On the men’s side, they won their first in 50 years on the dot. 

Sophomore Rosemary Longisa stood atop the women, finishing No. 1 with a time of 19:35.0. Nipping at her heels was redshirt sophomore Zenah Cheptoo clocking in at 20:01.1 and finishing No. 3 overall. 

“I had a lot of confidence going into this race, and I was looking forward to winning,” Longisa said in a WSU Athletics statement. 

The men were led by sophomore Solomon Kipchoge, who finished No. 1 overall with a time of 22:32.6. Right in his back pocket was sophomore Evans Kurui at No. 2 with a time of 22:57.6. 

“We all came together as a team,” Kipchoge said in a statement. “We have a good coaching staff… I feel like I am at home.”

Back in 2024, both the men’s and women’s teams mirrored each other finishing No. 3 overall in the WCC Championships. They then went on to compete in the NCAA West Regional where the men snagged No. 9 and the women No. 7. 

With momentum built up by this pair of conference championships, the Cougs will prepare for the NCAA West Regional on Friday Nov. 14. Depending on their results in that meet, they will then look ahead to the NCAA Championships on Saturday Nov. 22.