The Master's Claims Seventh Straight GSAC Title; Noriega Repeats as Individual Champion

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – Eighth-ranked The Master's placed five runners among the top nine to win the 2026 GSAC Women's Cross Country Championship on Friday at Central Park in Santa Clarita, Calif., scoring 31 points to edge No. 7 Embry-Riddle by five.

The victory extended the Mustangs' conference championship streak to seven consecutive seasons. The Master's has won every title since 2020 and now owns eight overall, including its first in 2017. The Mustangs also secured the conference's automatic berth in the 2026 NAIA Women's Cross Country National Championship.

Embry-Riddle swept the first three individual positions in the 60-runner, 6-kilometer race. Junior Sophia Noriega successfully defended her individual championship from 2025, finishing in 21 minutes, 21.7 seconds. Carlee Murphy followed in 21:48.0, finishing 26.3 seconds behind Noriega, and Mia Kemp completed the podium sweep in 22:05.0.

The Eagles' remaining scorers were Kylie Monson, 14th in 24:09.6, and Heidi Donovan, 16th in 24:19.1. Fionnula Carew added a 20th-place finish in 24:57.1.

The Mustangs countered that front-end strength with four consecutive finishers immediately behind Kemp. Saige Miller led the team in fourth at 22:22.6, followed by Margaret Kempson in fifth at 23:05.0, Paige Theel in sixth at 23:19.1 and Acacia Rojas in seventh at 23:20.6.

Kylie Page completed the scoring five in ninth at 23:39.6, securing the 31-point total. Clara Most placed 10th in 23:47.0 to give the champions six of the top 10 finishers.

Although Embry-Riddle recorded the faster combined scoring time, 1:53:43.1 to 1:55:46.6, the Mustangs' lower placement total proved decisive in the five-point championship victory.

Arizona Christian finished third with 83 points, led by senior Alison Unruh's eighth-place finish in 23:32.4. Priscilla Celis-Saldivar took 11th in 23:53.6 and freshman Piper Shannon placed 13th in 24:01.9, giving the Firestorm three runners among the top 14. Eva Huff finished 18th in 24:37.9, while Brennen Stephens completed the team's scoring lineup in 38th overall at 27:55.0.

Soka placed fourth with 122 points behind senior Yuko Hashimoto, who finished 12th in 23:55.1. Anna Kawaguchi was 28th in 26:44.2, Tomoe Hamazaki took 29th in 26:51.6, Sara Siegler finished 32nd in 27:07.0 and Yumi Murakami placed 35th in 27:23.1 to complete the Lions' scoring five.

Nevada State scored 138 points for fifth place in its first GSAC Women's Cross Country Championship appearance after joining the conference for the 2026–27 academic year. Freshman Julianna Ondrisko led the Scorpions in 15th at 24:12.1, followed by Iliana Schweitzer in 31st at 27:05.0 and Eliza Miller in 33rd at 27:11.3.

La Sierra finished sixth with 156 points, paced by Tiffany Mendez in 22nd at 25:26.4. Hope International placed seventh with 168 points as Lupe Mata finished 17th in 24:20.8 and Maya Estrada Garcia took 19th in 24:41.7. OUAZ rounded out the eight-team standings with 230 points. Isabelle Addis led the Spirit in 50th at 32:02.3, with Mara Jade Bush following in 51st at 32:04.8.

The top 14 finishers earned All-GSAC recognition. The Master's led with six selections, followed by Embry-Riddle with four, Arizona Christian with three and Soka with one.

With the conference's automatic berth secured, The Master's will compete at the 2026 NAIA Women's Cross Country National Championship on Friday, November 20, at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site in Vancouver, Wash.

The remaining qualifying teams will be announced during the NAIA Selection Show on Tuesday, November 10, at 4 p.m. CT (2 p.m. PT), streaming live on the NAIA YouTube channel. Individual qualifiers will be announced separately in the official release on NAIA.org.