Saturday September 13,  2025 - 1:00 p.m. | Dylan DeVlieger

Women's Cross Country

The No. 1 ranked Mesa Women's Cross Country team turned in a strong showing at the CSUSM Cougar Challenge on Saturday, highlighted by another record-breaking performance from freshman Olivia Baker.

Baker placed 4th overall with a time of 21:22.1, breaking the school 6k record previously held by Carmella Baldwin. Fellow Thunderbird Katelyn Munoz broke 22 minutes as she clocked a time of of 21:54.6 to finish 22nd.

Head coach Daniel Pescador praised her performance in particular.

"Overall the women ran great! Very proud of how Katie ran as well to also break 22 minutes!" Pescador said.

Kinley Jackson opened her season with a 73rd-place finish in 23:10.9, while Olivia Scroggins crossed in 113th at 25:13.8.

With only four women racing the 6k distance, Mesa did not register a team score but demonstrated depth and promise moving into the heart of the season.

Men's Cross Country 

The No. 2 ranked Mesa Men's Cross Country team placed 7th overall at the CSUSM Cougar Challenge, scoring 197 points in a competitive 8k field.

The Thunderbirds packed well throughout the race, led by Cal Schnepf in 54th at 26:22.1. Close behind were Alex Lopez (63rd – 26:32.0), Josef Iker (67th – 26:41.1), and Brady Moar (68th – 26:42.2). Rounding out the team's top five was Edgar Molera-Madril, finishing 77th at 26:55.4.

Benett Kaup (78th – 26:59.7), Dean Haller (84th – 27:18.4), and Caleb Faba (89th – 27:28.8) also contributed to Mesa's team effort.

Coach Pescador was encouraged by the group's execution in their first major 8k.

"The men ran well, we wanted to try a different approach to racing the 8k, since it was the first big competitive 8k for most of the guys. They ran together as instructed, I had them a little too slow to start, but they executed. Extremely proud of Alex for a great race and big PR! We're in a good position as we move forward, and excited for the meets to come," said Pescador.

Mesa will be back in action on Sept. 27 at the David Murray Invite in Tucson, AZ. 

Click here to view the enitre results.