5 Things to Know: 2026 Women's Cross Country Season Preview
August 24, 2026 | Women's Cross Country
IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's cross country team is coming off an impressive 2025-26 campaign in which the Anteaters finished second at the Big West Championships. The distance runners also set numerous records during the track & field season, while being key contributors to UCI's Big West outdoor and MPSF indoor team titles.
Get to know more about the 2026 squad ahead of the season-opening Aztec Coastal Classic, which will be held in San Diego on Thursday, Sept. 3.
SENIOR LEADERS
Leading the way for the Anteaters will be seniors Kaia Schmidt and Emma Hadley. Last year, Schmidt (20:38.4) and Hadley (20:47.6) ran the team's best 6K times of the season which rank eighth and 10th, respectively, in program history. Schmidt also earned all-conference honors with a career-best fourth-place showing at the Big West Championships. During the indoor and outdoor track seasons, the duo combined to set 11 marks that rank among UCI's all-time top-10. Schmidt holds the school record in the steeple, while Hadley established a program record in the indoor mile. Schmidt (steeple) and Hadley (1500m) were also Big West individual champions on the track.
"Kaia is one where it would be silly for us not to talk about trying to win an individual Big West championship," UC Irvine distance coach Casey Kear said. "We're trying to have her ready to run her best at the end of the season, so we might not see her in some early races, but I think she's going to be ready to go come conference.
"Emma has progressed a ton and put herself on about every top-10 list of the distance events we have," Kear added. "She had the best summer she's ever had training-wise and is ready to translate that to a really good cross country season."
RETURNING DEPTH
Behind Schmidt and Hadley is a group of 13 returners. Sophomore Grace Baxter, junior Liana Lee, and junior Rachel Moen all placed among the top 25 at the Big West Cross Country Championships a year ago. In addition, junior Anna Soares is coming off an outdoor track season in which she made her way up to No. 3 in program history in the steeple, and took home bronze in the event at the Big West meet. Junior Cynthia Herrera also returns after missing the 2025 cross country season.
"We have a good mix of depth and a lot of that group are juniors who have progressed quite a bit over the last year or two," Kear said.
ENTERING THE MIX
The 'Eaters have three newcomers with fifth-year transfer Sona Kourilova and incoming freshmen Allie Harman and Alahna Thomas. Kourilova comes to Irvine from the University of Utah, where she finished 14th in the steeplechase at the 2026 NCAA West First Round. She has also won numerous cross country and track championships in the Czech Republic.
"Sona is someone who has a lot of experience racing at international and high-level competitions in the Big 12, so I think she's going to come in and make an immediate impact," Kear said. "Our two freshmen are also both coming off really good high school track and cross country seasons, and have the credentials to make that top seven right off the bat."
FAMILIAR GROUND
The Anteaters will make their way to the UCR Ag/Ops Course for three of their six scheduled meets. They are set to compete in the UC Riverside Invitational (Sept. 19) and Highlander Invitational (Oct. 17), while the Big West Championships will also take place at UCR on Oct. 31. Ten of UCI's 16 returners ran a 6K personal record on the Riverside course last year.
"We get to head back to UC Riverside for the Big West Championships, which is a course we love and have historically run well at," Kear said.
MORE ON THE SCHEDULE
UCI starts its 2026 cross country slate at the Aztec Coastal Classic in San Diego on Thursday, Sept. 3. They also have two non-local meets, with a regular-season trip to Oregon for the Bill Dellinger Invitational on Oct. 9, and a postseason trek to Sacramento for the NCAA West Regional on Nov. 13. Qualifying teams and individuals make their way to Terre Haute, Indiana, for the NCAA Championships (Nov. 21).
"We have familiarity with the regional site in Sacramento and will continue to chase our goals of having student-athletes represented at the national championship," Kear said.
Get to know more about the 2026 squad ahead of the season-opening Aztec Coastal Classic, which will be held in San Diego on Thursday, Sept. 3.
SENIOR LEADERS
Leading the way for the Anteaters will be seniors Kaia Schmidt and Emma Hadley. Last year, Schmidt (20:38.4) and Hadley (20:47.6) ran the team's best 6K times of the season which rank eighth and 10th, respectively, in program history. Schmidt also earned all-conference honors with a career-best fourth-place showing at the Big West Championships. During the indoor and outdoor track seasons, the duo combined to set 11 marks that rank among UCI's all-time top-10. Schmidt holds the school record in the steeple, while Hadley established a program record in the indoor mile. Schmidt (steeple) and Hadley (1500m) were also Big West individual champions on the track.
"Kaia is one where it would be silly for us not to talk about trying to win an individual Big West championship," UC Irvine distance coach Casey Kear said. "We're trying to have her ready to run her best at the end of the season, so we might not see her in some early races, but I think she's going to be ready to go come conference.
"Emma has progressed a ton and put herself on about every top-10 list of the distance events we have," Kear added. "She had the best summer she's ever had training-wise and is ready to translate that to a really good cross country season."
RETURNING DEPTH
Behind Schmidt and Hadley is a group of 13 returners. Sophomore Grace Baxter, junior Liana Lee, and junior Rachel Moen all placed among the top 25 at the Big West Cross Country Championships a year ago. In addition, junior Anna Soares is coming off an outdoor track season in which she made her way up to No. 3 in program history in the steeple, and took home bronze in the event at the Big West meet. Junior Cynthia Herrera also returns after missing the 2025 cross country season.
"We have a good mix of depth and a lot of that group are juniors who have progressed quite a bit over the last year or two," Kear said.
ENTERING THE MIX
The 'Eaters have three newcomers with fifth-year transfer Sona Kourilova and incoming freshmen Allie Harman and Alahna Thomas. Kourilova comes to Irvine from the University of Utah, where she finished 14th in the steeplechase at the 2026 NCAA West First Round. She has also won numerous cross country and track championships in the Czech Republic.
"Sona is someone who has a lot of experience racing at international and high-level competitions in the Big 12, so I think she's going to come in and make an immediate impact," Kear said. "Our two freshmen are also both coming off really good high school track and cross country seasons, and have the credentials to make that top seven right off the bat."
FAMILIAR GROUND
The Anteaters will make their way to the UCR Ag/Ops Course for three of their six scheduled meets. They are set to compete in the UC Riverside Invitational (Sept. 19) and Highlander Invitational (Oct. 17), while the Big West Championships will also take place at UCR on Oct. 31. Ten of UCI's 16 returners ran a 6K personal record on the Riverside course last year.
"We get to head back to UC Riverside for the Big West Championships, which is a course we love and have historically run well at," Kear said.
MORE ON THE SCHEDULE
UCI starts its 2026 cross country slate at the Aztec Coastal Classic in San Diego on Thursday, Sept. 3. They also have two non-local meets, with a regular-season trip to Oregon for the Bill Dellinger Invitational on Oct. 9, and a postseason trek to Sacramento for the NCAA West Regional on Nov. 13. Qualifying teams and individuals make their way to Terre Haute, Indiana, for the NCAA Championships (Nov. 21).
"We have familiarity with the regional site in Sacramento and will continue to chase our goals of having student-athletes represented at the national championship," Kear said.
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