NEW ORLEANS – The 2026 American Conference Cross Country Championships are set for Oct. 31 at Lake Oaks Park in New Orleans. The women’s 6K race is scheduled to begin at 10:15 a.m. ET/9:15 a.m. CT, with the men’s 8K race set to follow at approximately 11 a.m. ET/10 a.m. CT. Live coverage of the meet will be available on ESPN+.
The American Cross Country Championships return to New Orleans for the second time, and the first since the 2018 championships meet that was contested at the Golf Club at Audubon Park.
WICHITA STATE’S KIPRUTO EXPECTED TO RETURN TO DEFEND MEN’S 8K
Wichita State’s Elkana Kipruto looks to defend his title in the men’s championship 8K as he attempts to become just the third back-to-back individual men’s cross country champion in American history, joining Tulsa’s Marc Scott in 2014-15 and Tulane’s Emmanuel Roitch in 2017-18. Kipruto captured the conference individual crown in 2025 with a time of 23:16.6 at Frank Liske Park in Concord, North Carolina.
For the sixth straight season, a new individual champion will be crowned in the American women’s 6K. Tulane’s Blezzin Kimutai has finished as the event runner-up in each of the last two years.
TULSA AIMS TO CONTINUE NEW WINNING STREAK
The Tulsa men’s program returned to the winner’s circle after having its 10-year championship streak in the men’s 8K snapped by Tulane in 2024 with a victory last season in North Carolina. Tulsa is the most decorated men’s cross country program in conference history with its 11 American team championships, six individual conference champions and four top-10 team finishes at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships.
TULANE LOOKS FOR A THIRD TEAM TITLE IN FOUR YEARS
Tulane will attempt to capture a third women’s 6K championship in four years with a win as the meet host this weekend in New Orleans. The Green Wave cruised to victory last season in North Carolina with four individual finishers placing inside of the top 10. Tulane could become just the second program to repeat as American team champion in the women’s 6K, joining Tulsa (2014-15, 2019-22) as consecutive meet winners.
2026 REGULAR SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
The Wichita State men’s cross country program checked in ranked 24th in the latest NCAA DI Men’s Cross Country National Poll, with Tulsa among the teams receiving votes.
Tulane’s Silas Kiptanui captured American Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week twice during the regular season, the first time after winning the Battle for New Orleans at Lake Oaks Park in September before later claiming the Men’s Blue 8K at the Under Armour Pre-Nationals Invitational on Oct. 16 in Terre Haute, Indiana. Petra Dos Santos and Blezzin Kimutai each added one women’s cross country athlete of the week honor apiece representing the Green Wave, with Dos Santos winning the women’s 4K at the Battle for New Orleans to open the season and Kimutai taking eighth place in a loaded field at the Arturo Barrios Invitational earlier this month.
The UTSA duo of Andruw Villa and Meryeme Mai captured the second set of weekly conference awards in 2026. Villa was the men’s athlete of the week following a runner-up showing in the men’s 8K at the UIW Invitational in September, while Mai was the winner of the women’s 4K event at the UIW meet.
Wichita State Nicholas Kipchirchir led the Shockers with a third-place individual showing in the men’s 8K at the Gans Creek Classic in Missouri in September, earning conference men’s athlete of the week during the season’s third awards segment. Tulsa’s Kathryn Koonts rounded out the women’s weekly athlete honorees following a third-place performance in the Women’s Habanero 5K at the Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Arkansas during the first weekend of October.