NCAA Cross Country Preview — Women’s Top 10 Individuals

1. Jane Hedengren (BYU)

Unless and until there’s evidence to the contrary, Hedengren is the woman to beat this fall. Yes, her first full year at BYU ended on a down note as the effects of an illness limited her to 3rd and 9th in the NCAA Outdoor 10K and 5K, respectively. But last fall, she transitioned from arguably the best prep distance runner ever to dominating collegiate XC competition as a frosh like few before — until she met Lemngole. Then indoors, with the Kenyan battling injury, she swept the NCAA indoor 3K and 5K. Her yearling campaign also included CRs at both 5K and 10K. It will be exciting to see where she takes it in year 2. If she stays healthy, she might be unbeatable.

2. Mercyline Kirwa (Iowa State)

It was clear from the beginning last fall that 25-year-old Kenyan frosh Kirwa was a significant talent, a late bloomer who became a leader for the Cyclones with strong finishes at Nuttycombe and Big 12s (both 5th), before a knee injury cut short her XC season. What no one saw coming was her 61-second closer in the NCAA 10K to beat both a fading (and under the weather) Hedengren and defending champ Kosgei (#3 below). A kick like that, a year’s experience and another strong team with new coach Laura Harmon and staying healthy could mean a high podium spot in Terre Haute.

3. Pamela Kosgei (New Mexico)

With a runner-up finish behind Lemngole at the ’24 NCAA XC, then a 10K/5K nationals sweep the following spring, there was every reason to think that Kosgei could battle Lemngole to be the NCAA’s best in ’25-26. But she missed some time during the fall due to injury, was 2nd to Hedengren in the Mountain Regional, then faded late to 17th at NCAAs. She then had strong podium finishes in NCAA track, plus a 30:49.99 at Stanford, but always the BYU frosh was ahead of her — until Kirwa’s stunning 10K victory in Eugene (where Kosgei was 2nd). She tuned up for this fall with a pair of major road race wins in August at Falmouth and Beach to Beacon.

4. Hannah Gapes (NC State)

If you search for Hannah Gapes’ most recent results, you’ll find not an early-season performance for the Wolfpack, but rather the September 19 World Road Racing Championships 5K, where she ran an outstanding 9th for her native New Zealand in 15:06. It was a heckuva way to start the fall for the 2-time NCAA top 10 finisher, tasked with helping defending champ NC State to another top finish. Three women come into this fall with back-to-back NCAA XC top 10s. Kosgei, Gapes (8th in ’24, then 5th last fall) and her teammate Grace Hartman (see below). While her track PRs and national finishes haven’t been as spectacular, peaking in late November seems to be her specialty.

5. Betty Kipkore (Iowa State)

Kipkore’s improvement curve since early last fall is a big reason the Cyclones have a group at the front that could yield an NCAA podium finish. The soph was 14th in the early-season ’25 Gans and Nuttycombe meets, then progressed to 6th at Big 12s, 3rd to lead in Kirwa’s absence at the Midwest Regional, then 15th at nationals. Then she got significantly better on the oval last winter and this past spring, culminating in a pair of 4th-place finishes in Eugene. The sense is that the 23-year-old is just beginning to scratch the surface of what she can become.

6. Isca Chelangat (Arkansas)

One of the biggest transfer stories was Chelangat leaving Oklahoma State for Arkansas after her frosh campaign. She had progressed during fall of ’25 to 4th in Big 12s, winning the Midwest Regional, then taking an impressive 7th at NCAAs. But in the winter and spring, she went from a few good early performances to a post-season that culminated in a 21st in the NCAA 5K. The 22-year-old will now seek to boost a Razorback program in the SEC and nationally that lost Sydney Vaught to graduation. She will aim to return to her top 7 form from last fall and the 15:07.76 fitness she demonstrated at her best.

7. Joy Naukot (West Virginia)

Taking over as the Mountaineers’ low stick last fall after the graduation of Ceili McCabe, who led them to runner-up in the ’24 NCAAs, Naukot improved from 17th to 12th and now has a great shot to climb well into the top 10. Only Hedengren beat her in the Big 12s in ’25, then she won the Mid-Atlantic Regional crown. On the track, she backed up her 31:34.34 PR 3rd-place 10K finish in ’25 with a 5th last spring. Naukot also lowered her 5000 best to 15:11.91 last December.

8. Grace Hartman (NC State)

Hartman enjoyed a stellar ascension toward the top when she took 5th in the ’24 NCAAs and delivered a ’25 track campaign with 31:20.60 and 14:58.11 PRs and multiple All-American finishes. She improved to 3rd in last fall’s NCAA, then represented Team USA at World Cross in February. With a history of managing plantar fascia issues, she then redshirted the outdoor season for NC State. Now a graduate student in Raleigh after receiving the Weaver-James-Corrigan-Swofford Postgraduate Scholarship, she is slated to compete but is a big question mark after not racing for 7 months. If healthy, she is arguably the best U.S.-born collegiate long-distance talent after Hedengren.

9. Judy Chepkoech (Florida)

Chepkoech is a top 10 returnee after taking 16th at NCAAs as a soph last fall, but then she seriously enhanced her profile with a pair of All-American finishes on the oval. She ran to a 5th-place finish in the NCAA indoor 5000, then took 3rd outdoors over the same distance — in that wild finish marred by the DQ of apparent winner Lemngole. In ’25-26, she was part of a Gator 1–2 punch with now-graduated Hilda Olemomoi, who authored back-to-back 3rd-place finishes in XC; now she’s the leader in the program.

10. Marion Jepgnetich (New Mexico)

One of the more surprising NCAA champions last spring, Jepngetich was an apparent runner-up in the 5000, then elevated to the top of the podium when Lemngole was disqualified for a lane violation. The triumph also came at the expense of her teammate Kosgei, the defending champ, and 10K champ Kirwa. Jepngetich had been 4th in the track 10,000 as a soph, but she didn’t achieve at the same level over hill and dale, taking 5th in conference, 10th in regionals, then 43rd at NCAAs. With a 5K title and another year of seasoning, it’s not hard to imagine she could rise to the top 10 with her teammate.