Friday, October 30
Mission Bay/San Diego, CA
11:00 AM
Saint Mary's College of California
vs
WCC Championships
10/30/2026 1:05:00 PM | Men's Cross Country
SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The Saint Mary's men's cross country team turned heads at the 2026 West Coast Conference Championships, putting together an impressive performance to secure third place out of eight teams and record its best conference finish since 1999.
Redshirt senior Joseph O'Connell and graduate student Stuart Terrill put together outstanding performances for Saint Mary's, finishing second and third individually in the men's 8K race, marking the two highest individual finishes in program history at the WCC Championships. Both runners steadily worked their way through the field, with O'Connell moving from 18th at the opening split to sixth by the 5K mark before taking the lead at 7K. Terrill followed a similar path, climbing from 25th to eighth at the 5K before moving into second at the 7K mark. The duo ultimately crossed the finish line just seconds apart, with O'Connell clocking a time of 24:30.2 and Terrill finishing in 24:33.7. Both runners earned First Team All-WCC honors which is just the second time in program history that Saint Mary's has had two first-team selections in the same season and the first since 1999. The recognition also builds on last season's success, when Divan Du Plooy became the program's first First Team All-WCC honoree since 2016.
Damian Frausto was next across the finish line for the Gaels and placed 21st, finishing in 25:31.3. Joel Fischer followed in 30th with a time of 25:48.5, while Dennis Cheruiyot rounded out Saint Mary's top five in 33rd place, clocking a time of 25:53.4.
The Gaels' third-place finish marks the program's second-best result at the WCC Championships, trailing a second-place finish in 1999. Saint Mary's improved on last season's fourth-place finish, continuing to build on the program's success at the conference championships.
Saint Mary's will look to carry its momentum into the NCAA West Regionals on Friday, November 13 at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento.
Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
#GaelsRise
Redshirt senior Joseph O'Connell and graduate student Stuart Terrill put together outstanding performances for Saint Mary's, finishing second and third individually in the men's 8K race, marking the two highest individual finishes in program history at the WCC Championships. Both runners steadily worked their way through the field, with O'Connell moving from 18th at the opening split to sixth by the 5K mark before taking the lead at 7K. Terrill followed a similar path, climbing from 25th to eighth at the 5K before moving into second at the 7K mark. The duo ultimately crossed the finish line just seconds apart, with O'Connell clocking a time of 24:30.2 and Terrill finishing in 24:33.7. Both runners earned First Team All-WCC honors which is just the second time in program history that Saint Mary's has had two first-team selections in the same season and the first since 1999. The recognition also builds on last season's success, when Divan Du Plooy became the program's first First Team All-WCC honoree since 2016.
Damian Frausto was next across the finish line for the Gaels and placed 21st, finishing in 25:31.3. Joel Fischer followed in 30th with a time of 25:48.5, while Dennis Cheruiyot rounded out Saint Mary's top five in 33rd place, clocking a time of 25:53.4.
The Gaels' third-place finish marks the program's second-best result at the WCC Championships, trailing a second-place finish in 1999. Saint Mary's improved on last season's fourth-place finish, continuing to build on the program's success at the conference championships.
Saint Mary's will look to carry its momentum into the NCAA West Regionals on Friday, November 13 at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento.
Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
#GaelsRise
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
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