FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. —Eastern Washington wrapped up the 2026 Big Sky Conference Championships on Friday in Flagstaff, with the women finishing eighth with 228 points and the men placing ninth with 254 points.

Sara Sanders paced the Eastern women, crossing the finish line in 26th place with a time of 17:24.1. Rhiannon Davies was the next Eagle across the line in 45th, followed by Ifechi Okoye in 68th and Lexi Meyer in 69th. Hannah Lee rounded out Eastern's scoring five with a 78th-place finish.

On the men's side, Owen Higgins led the Eagles with a 49th-place finish, clocking a time of 25:49.4. Charlie Ledwith followed in 56th, while Trajn Swalstad placed 61st. Grady Fournier finished 67th and Conner Wirth crossed the line in 69th to complete Eastern's scoring group.

"Running at 7,000 feet is never easy, but we gutted it out the best we could," Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Erin Tucker said. "If you look at our results, we packed up really well and ran as a strong team."

Tucker remained encouraged by the Eagles' performance and the progress the program continues to make.

"Can we run better? Yes. Are we upset with the result? No. Will we run better in Sacramento? Yes," Tucker added. "We got better today and we were still not great. The future is bright!"

Up Next
Eastern Washington will turn its attention to the NCAA West Regional, set for Friday, Nov. 13 in Sacramento, Calif.



ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as learning opportunities for its most athletically talented students and as an enhancement to student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with comparable enrollments and academic goals.

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