COSTA MESA -- Vanguard cross country enters 2026 on the back of a surge in 2025 that garnered attention across the Pacific West Conference.  After bringing in one of the biggest teams in program history that featured plenty of freshmen, the women jumped to third in the league, while the men showed improvement with a sixth-place result.  Head Coach Bryan Wilkins, entering his 37th season, is proud of what was accomplished a year ago, but also knows that success must be maintained.
 
"First of all, our team culture", started Wilkins. "We're in a really, really healthy place in terms of the athletes just being all in, having fun with each other, working hard, and being committed to the impact that the team can have on the spiritual front and the relational front.  On the performance front, some of the highlights were having the opportunity to compete in postseason last year in cross country, after both teams ran well at conference."
 
"The women made a big jump forward from sixth place the previous year in cross to third. Our hope was maybe to place fourth, possibly third, but the fact we pulled off that third-place finish was huge. The men were sixth, and I think that's where we were seeded in the preseason, so we were happy, but not fully satisfied with that. But nonetheless, our men, I felt they performed very well."
 
 
VU is set to take on five races before the conference championship, with the curtain rising on Saturday morning at the CSUF Mark Covert Class on the Green River Golf Course.  Two weeks later, the squad returns to UC Riverside for the UCR Invite on the course that winds through the agricultural portion of the campus and is known as a location for fast times.  The TMU Invitation follows on October 3, while the Pomona-Pitzer Invite (Oct. 10) and the Titan Invitational (Oct. 23) round out the schedule for VU cross country this campaign.  The PacWest Championships are on familiar ground this year, as the course in Rockin near Jessup's campus was on the Golden State Athletic Conference docket for a number of years, so the November 8 event is familiar ground for the coaching staff.
 
Here is a look at the rosters that Coach Wilkins assembled for the new season.
 
Only Cooper Andreson departed the men's team at the end of last year, with Rudy Mendoza and Ulysses Rios arriving as much-needed reinforcements to the lineup. 
 
"One of our goals is to improve our team time, and we feel like last year we ran 2:14, and I really believe we're capable of running at least 2:09 or better.  That would be a big drop. I mean, that would be almost a minute improvement per person over the top five, and I really believe this team is capable of that. The freshmen guys are definitely going to play a big role in that, so we're banking on them to give us an extra little boost."
 
Jesse O'Campo had the best result on the squad at the PacWest Championships, placing 24th with a time of 26:15.9.  He set a personal best at the UCR Highlander event, coming in with a 25:46.3 in ninth.  Ommar Arroyo was 39th at the PacWest Championships (27:15), his best finish on an 8K course, while his 26:32.6 at the TMU Mustang Challenge was his best time on an 8K.
 
Caleb Dickerson placed 47th at the conference championships (28:23.8) and moved up his career-best for an 8K course with a 26:24.5 at the UCR Highlander event, where he placed 30th.  Josiah Kirby is back for one more season after ending the PacWest race in 56th (29:19.7) and he also had a career-best result at the UCR Highlander, as he put down a 28:58.5.  Rylan Starnes is the other returner for VU and he placed 59th at the championships with a mark of 29:40.6, though his best time was a 28:36, also at UCR.
 
Mendoza has a personal best of 16:15 on a three-mile course, and he was on the Second Team All-Desert Empire League two times while at La Quinta High School.  Meanwhile, Rios had a best three-mile time of 14:49 at the Orange County Championships and was a two-time All-Sunset League selection and MVP for Fountain Valley HS.
 
With a huge freshman class on the women's side last year, Coach Wilkins foresees that paying dividends this season. 
 
"I think we're going to see a little bit of shifting around like we did last year. That top 10 could look different from week to week to week, and the top seven could look different as well, and that's the beauty of depth. We have a number of people."
 
Many eyes across the conference will be scanning the timing sheets to see if Ella Murray, the Freshman of the Year in 2025, has improved in form in year two.  She was the top runner for VU at the PacWest Championships (second, 21:46.4) and at the NCAA Regional (18th, 21:06.72), where she ran her fastest 8K time of the year.  With only one result outside of the 21-minute range, any improvement could put her in the hunt for the top spot on the podium come November.  The other two Lions who got All-PacWest honors both left the active lineup, but Kate Baranski has not drifted far from the program, as she has joined as a new assistant coach this season.
 
That leads to Zoe Tavares, who crossed the line in 33rd at the conference event (23:12.5) and had a best time of 22:33.7 at the UCR Highlander.  Not far behind her was Giselle Rubio, who had a 23:21.9 in the PacWest race, though her 22:36 at the Highlander was her best time at VU.  Madyson Nakamura was 40th at the PacWest run but had three of her five 8K times in the 22-minute range, with a best of 22:13.3 at the UCR race, her best as a Lion.  Kaitlyn Smith was just two seconds back from Nakamura at the PacWest race in 41st, and she set her fastest time at VU at the Pomona-Pitzer Invite (24:25.8).
 
Hailey Quiroz had a 24:22.6 to place 53rd last October, though she had her fastest time at the UCR event with a 23:02.7.  Rounding out the starting lineup at the PacWest championships is Haley Butenschoen who placed 62nd and 64th, respectively.  Butenschoen had a 24:45.5 at the title tilt but was over a minute faster at the UCR race (23:26.4), with her 65th-place finish at the PP Invite being her best on an 8K course.  
 
But there are eight more returners who are ready to move into the vacated starting spots for the conference clash, beginning with Kaitlyn Barragan.  She shaved off almost three minutes from her time at the TMU invite (27:06) to the UCR event (24:52), which was her fastest time as a Lion.  Adrianna Huffstuttler had her final two races of the year in the mid-24-minute range, with her UCR time of 24:19.5 being her fastest of her freshman season.  Emily Noyes also clocked a quick time at the Riverside event, as her 23:52.8 set her VU personal best.
 
Chase Sullivan had a 25:42.6 at the TMU race and brought her time down to a 24:32.6 for the UCR run, while Sydney Sydney almost dove into the 22-minute range (23:09.6, a career-best) at the Riverside race and she improved by almost a minute during the season.  Zoe Feaver missed the Vanguard Invite but dropped over two minutes of time across her other three races and she ended her inaugural VU campaign with a 27:17.5 in Riverside.
 
Macey Thomas and Brady Wylie complete this group, and Thomas had a 24:20.8 at the UCR Highlander, while Wylie had a 24:31.9, both over a minute faster than their season debut at the TMU challenge. 
 
 
Asha Digiambattista, Mia Luna, Madison McGarvey, and Jordyn Wylie (sister of Brady) are the freshmen that bolster the team in 2026.  Digiambattista had a best time of 17:52 at the three-mile distance and was the most outstanding runner for both cross country and middle-distance track at Liberty HS.  Luna had an 18:15 at the OC Championships last year, was the Freeway League Champion, and was the most outstanding cross-country athlete all four of her years at Brea Olinda HS.  McGarvey set an 18:03 at the River Valley League finals and was the League and Patriot HS MVP.  Rounding out the group, Wylie had a top mark of 19:53 and was a Valley Oak All-League runner at Oakdale HS.

But there are plenty of races to sort out the conference lineup, and Coach Wilkins believes the theme of the year for the cross country program represents his wish to continue to rise in Division II.
 
"So, 1 Corinthians 15:58 is our theme, and we love this theme.  It's all about just being steadfast in our love for the Lord and our relationship with the Lord.  That also spills into what we want to be steadfast in: our relationships with teammates, steadfast in our commitments to training hard, being great teammates, being all in, being people of character and integrity, and just being stable and unwavering.  Steadfast is a theme that I'm really looking forward to seeing how we play that out during the year as it's basically rooted in God's steadfast love for us. And if we're just cognizant of that and rallying around that truth, then that's what's going to allow us to be more steadfast in all of the things that we're committing to."
 
Time to hit the ground running and make that commitment turn to gold.