Off to the Races: Florida Gators Cross Country Kicks Off 2026 Season
The Gators opened their 2026 season at the Stan Sims Cross Country Opener on Friday in Kennesaw, Georgia, with first-place finishes in the men’s four-mile race and women’s 5K race.
Florida has 14 total returners this season, seven on each side.
The men were ranked 21st in the USTFCCCA Preseason Coaches Poll. This marks the first time the men’s program has ever notched a spot on the preseason top 25 rankings. They are also predicted to finish third in the SEC Preseason Poll, jumping up eight spots from last year’s poll.
“We try not to put a lot of stock in the rankings,” coach Will Palmer said. “Our focus is really just what we see here day to day.”
The women’s team is built around a strong young core without a single senior on the roster. The Gators had four seniors graduate last year, including standout Hilda Olemomoi, who finished third overall in the 2025 NCAA Championship, and Tia Wilson, who finished 22nd overall.
Palmer is hopeful about the young team.
“We have some really talented returners and we’re pretty excited about the newcomers,” he said. “The women that were freshmen last year [Claire Stegall, Keeghan Edwards, Isobelle Jones, Desma Chepkoech] are going to be in a position to take a big step forward.”
Florida is welcoming freshman Jazlyn Forbes, Maggie McCormick and Mary Nesmith to the 11-women squad. The Chepkoech sisters, Judy and Desma, are among the most promising returners for the group.
Judy finished second for the Gators and 16th overall in the NCAA Championship last season. Desma won an SEC Freshman Runner of the Week award last season following her 19:34.8 (6K) 10th place effort at the Gans Creek Classic.
The women were ranked 14th in the USTFCCCA Preseason Coaches Poll, falling three spots from last year’s preseason rankings. They were picked to finish second in the SEC this season.
This season, Florida will only race three regular season meets before championship season begins. While the Stan Sims Opener featured a four-mile race on the men’s side and a 5K for the women, the course at Allatoona Creek Park is completely new to the Florida cross country program. Competition and placing are not the most important aspects of early season openers like this one. The goal is putting in reps and building racing experience.
Palmer emphasized that the regular season meets Florida has are not a huge focus and peaking late in the season is the goal.
“We try to compete hard at those meets, but we try to structure the training so that we’re at our best at the very end,” he said.
Last season, the women’s team took home the title in both the SEC Championship and the NCAA South Regional. They closed the season off securing the fifth-place mark in the NCAA Championship, matching their best finish from 2023.
The men’s team finished seventh at the 2025 NCAA South Regional and fell short of qualifying for the NCAA Championship. Sophomore Kelvin Cheruiyot was the lone individual qualifier on the men’s side for the NCAA Championship and finished 14th overall with a time of 28:51.1 (10K).
“Kelvin shows up every day and puts his head down and works really diligently to get better,” Palmer said.
This season may be the year the tide changes as a team for the men, with returning sensations like Cheruiyot and incoming freshmen Mohammad El Moussalit and Eliud Muchiri.
Following the Stan Sims Opener on Friday, the Gators will travel to the John McNichols Invitational on Sept. 19 to race at the NCAA Championship course in Terre Haute, Ind. They will race one of the most competitive regular season meets, the Nuttycombe Invitational, on Oct. 9 in Madison, Wisconsin, before heading into championship season.
Category: Gator Sports, Gators Cross Country
