MXC | Gaels Put Up Best Finish in a Quarter Century, Du Plooy Picks up First Gaels All-WCC Bid Since 2016 in Stellar Day of Racing at WCCs

Saturday, November 1

The Course Spokane Valley/Spokane, WA

11:00 AM

Saint Mary's College of California

WCC Championships

Photo by: WCC / Moira Sweeney

MXC | Gaels Put Up Best Finish in a Quarter Century, Du Plooy Picks up First Gaels All-WCC Bid Since 2016 in Stellar Day of Racing at WCCs

11/1/2025 12:59:00 PM | Men's Cross Country

SPOKANE, Wash. — The Saint Mary's Men's Cross Country team's season of hard work paid off, as they finished 4th out of 10 teams at the West Coast Conference Championships, marking a milestone performance for the program. The fourth place finished matches the Gaels second best finish in program history, as they also placed fourth in 2000, one year after their all-time best finish of second in 1999.

Leading the way for the Gaels was Divan Du Plooy, who earned a top-10 finish, placing 9th overall after moving up 28 spots throughout the race. The junior crossed the finish line in 23:42.8. Du Plooy's outstanding finish earns him the title of First Team All-WCC honors, marking the first time a Saint Mary's runner has received this distinction since 2016 when Gaels alum Gabe Arias Sheridan finished in 10th overall at WCC Championships.

Finishing second for Saint Mary's was Zane Jackson, who shared the early pace with Du Plooy for the first 5k before clocking his time of 23:54.6 to earn a 17th place finish. Following just behind in 18th overall was Oisin Spillane who earned his personal best time in the 8k of 23:58.4. Rounding out the scoring for the Gaels were Jason Habash (40th, 25:05.9) and Jon Fielding Stogner (46th, 25:18.4). The Gaels remained in the middle of the pack as a team throughout the race, but kicked it into high gear over the final kilometer, to leapfrog both San Francisco and Santa Clara for the coveted fourth place spot behind the "Big Three" Pacific Northwest Schools in the WCC (Washington State, Portland and Gonzaga)

The Gaels strong performance resulted in an improvement from their performance from last season, moving up from 5th out of 9 teams at the 2024 WCC Championships to a 4th place finish out of 10 teams this season.

The significant achievement of placing 4th in the West Coast Conference will drive Saint Mary's into their race at the NCAA West Regionals at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento on Friday, November 14th.

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