OREGON ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2025 

CROSS COUNTRY/TRACK AND FIELD | @OregonTF

 

Women of Oregon Third at NCAA Championships

The UO men were fifth for their highest national finish since 2015.

 

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Behind a program-best four All-Americans, the Oregon women’s cross country team ran to a third-place finish Saturday morning at the 2025 NCAA Championships at Gans Creek XC Course in Columbia, Mo. The UO men, with three All-Americans of their own, added a fifth-place showing at the national meet.

 

The team finish for the Women of Oregon equals their highest national showing since 2018 and is their 14th top-four podium finish in program history. Saturday’s finish for the men is their highest at the NCAA meet since 2015, and a nine-place improvement from a year ago.

 

Both teams entered the NCAA Championships ranked sixth in this week’s USTFCCCA national polls.

 

Top-Five National Finishes

Women of Oregon (19 in 36 appearances)

Champions (4): 1983, '87, 2012, '16

Runner-Up (4): 1981, '88, 2007, '08

Third (4): 1982, 2015, '18, '25

Fourth (2): 1984, '86

Fifth (5): 1990, '91, '95, 2011, '17, '24

 

Men of Oregon (24 in 47 appearance)

Champions (6): 1971, '73, '74, '77, 2007, '08

Runner-Up (8): 1963, '64, '70, 76, '78, '79, '89, 2009

Third (4): 1969, '72, '83, '96

Fourth (2): 1986, 2015

Fifth (6): 1990, '98, 2002, '06, '13, '25

 

Individually, Silan Ayyildiz and Abdel Laadjel led their respective teams with a pair of ninth-place outings. The finish for Ayyildiz is a four-spot jump from last season while Laadjel earns his first All-America honor in cross country.

 

Ayyildiz clocked in with a final time of 18:57.9, one of the 13 women to dip below 19 minutes on the 6K Gans Creek course. On the men’s side, Laadjel navigated the 10K in 28:46.2.

 

Prior to Saturday’s race, the UO women had collected three All-Americans on 11 occasions including last year’s trio of Ayyildiz, Maddy Elmore and Anika Thompson. This season, Ayyildiz was joined by freshman Diana Cherotich (31st place, 19:15.2), Dalia Frias (36th, 19:18.8) and Juliet Cherubet (39th, 19:22.2). It was the NCAA Championships debut for Frias.

 

Laadjel led the Ducks’ All-American trio that also included Aiden Smith (25th place, 28:57.3) and Simeon Birnbaum (33rd, 29:01.6). The Oregon men last had at least three All-Americans in 2009. Smith is now a cross country All-American in back-to-back years while Birnbaum was up 31 spots from last season.

 

In the first race of the day, the Women of Oregon held a top-three position for the entire race. Eventual team champion NC State moved into the lead for good at the 3K checkpoint with the Ducks and BYU in a battle for spots two and three. Ayyildiz moved into the individual top 10 between the 5K and 6K marks but BYU finished with two in the top five to overcome the connected 2-3-4 Oregon runners.

 

With the top-three team creating some separation in the men’s race, the Ducks sat in fourth place at the 8K checkpoint ahead of Syracuse and Alabama. The Orange edged ahead of Oregon by two points at 9K, 247-249, and stretched its lead over the final kilometer while Smith and Birnbaum moved their way into the top 30 scoring spots to help the Ducks hold off Alabama.

 

NCAA Championships Results

WOMEN (top 5)

1. #1 NC State – 114 | 5-6-24-35-44

2. #2 BYU – 130 | 2-4-36-41-47

3. #6 Oregon – 153 | 9-26-31-34-53

4. #4 New Mexico – 216 | 16-38-42-59-61

5. #3 Florida – 225 | 3-15-19-72-116

 

Individual

9. Silan Ayyildiz – 18:57.9 (9)

31. Diana Cherotich – 19:15.2 (26)

36. Dalia Frias – 19:18.8 (31)

39. Juliet Cherubet – 19:22.2 (34)

64. Mia Barnett – 19:40.6 (53)

68. Anika Thompson – 19:42.3 (56)

179. Ali Ince – 20:26.2 (144)

 

MEN (top 5)

1. #1 Oklahoma State – 57 | 4-5-6-12-30

2. #3 New Mexico – 82 | 1-8-13-18-42

3. #2 Iowa State – 158 | 14-20-21-31-72

4. #4 Syracuse – 212 | 27-32-39-54-60

5. #6 Oregon – 239 | 9-22-29-55-124

 

Individual

9. Abdel Laadjel – 28:46.2 (9)

25. Aiden Smith – 28:57.3 (22)

33. Simeon Birnbaum – 29:01.6 (29)

64. Michael Mireles – 29:20.9 (55)

153. Benjamin Balazs – 29:58.6 (124)

178. Connor Burns – 30:15.1 (145)

216. Tayson Echohawk – 30:37.1 (180)

 

Oklahoma State won the men’s title while Habtom Samuel (New Mexico) and Doris Lemngole (Alabama) won the NCAA individual titles.

And...Oregon won both the Mens and Womens Cross-Country Big-10 Championships...