Bears Wrap Season At Big Sky Championships - University of Northern Colorado Athletics

Friday, October 30

Flagstaff, Ariz.

University of Northern Colorado

Big Sky Championships

10/30/2026 1:19:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

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By: Aiden Tank, Director of Strategic Communications

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Northern Colorado closed its cross country season Friday at the Big Sky Championships at Buffalo Park, with the men finishing 10th of 11 teams and the women 9th of 11.

Women's 5K
Claire Nowels led the Bears, finishing 38th in 17:46.4. Sabina Stroia was right behind her in 39th at 17:46.5, giving Northern Colorado two runners inside the top 40.

Brooke Elfert placed 76th in 18:46.7, with Taylor Sheldon 84th at 19:04.8. Jordain Stutzman finished 87th in 19:27.7, and Isabella Lemus was 90th at 19:39.6. Braelyn Gifford took 93rd in 19:51.6 and Sofia Cambridge rounded out the group in 94th at 20:00.9.

Men's 8K
Tristan Persons paced the Bears for the fifth straight meet, finishing 62nd in 26:10.4. Tad Rabenhorst was next in 73rd at 26:48.0.

Dylan Wilson placed 79th in 27:10.4, followed by Roddick Klopenstine in 82nd at 27:31.1 and Noah Mayoral De Anza in 83rd at 27:33.4. Cody Williams was 85th in 27:43.3, and Max Kedrowski closed out the Bears in 92nd at 28:33.2.

Maas on the Season
Head coach Nick Maas said the result matched where the program stands while praising how his team competed.

"I'm proud of our team fighting all year long," Maas said. "We were right around our expectations on finish, but they absolutely fought the whole way. Ultimately our depth hurts us a little and we'll be working on that for our future Bears. We'll come back with a vengeance in our next Big Sky."

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For complete coverage of UNC Athletics, check out the official homepage at uncbears.com. Follow the cross country and track and field teams on X (@UNC_BearsTFXC), and Instagram (@UNC_BearsXCTF).