Rockets Aiming for Sixth Straight Title at MAC Championship on Friday

Friday, October 30

Kalamazoo, Mich. - Prairies Golf Course

11:00 a.m.

University of Toledo

Mid-American Conference Championships

Senior Karina James won the individual title at last year's MAC Championship.

Photo by: Ellen Holton

10/28/2026 12:00:00 PM | Women's Cross Country

Six consecutive outright championships would mark longest streak of titles in conference history

TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo women's cross country team is looking to make history at the 2026 Mid-American Conference Championship race on Friday, Oct. 30 at the Prairies Golf Course in Kalamazoo, Mich. The Rockets are aiming to win their sixth consecutive conference championship in the 6K race that is set to begin at 11 a.m.

Toledo has won a MAC-record 11 conference titles - one more than Ohio - and a sixth-straight outright championship would give UT the longest string of titles in conference history. Ohio won six in a row from 1987-92 but shared the title with Central Michigan in 1989.

Heading into the race, the Rockets are ranked No. 12 in the nation and No. 2 in the Great Lakes Region by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association (USTFCCCA). The No. 12 ranking is UT's highest ranking ever, surpassing the 2022 squad's No. 16 mark.

The Rockets return four First-Team All-MAC honorees – Karina James, Melody Jebiwot, Dorcas Kiptanui, and Lianna Surtz – from their 2025 championship squad. Toledo has added talented freshman Purity Chepkirui to its lineup.

Chepkirui has been named MAC Women's Runner of the Week on two occasions this fall and has posted a Top 10 finish in each of her three races.

James captured the MAC individual title last year in Buffalo, N.Y. with Jebiwot, Kiptanui, and Surtz finishing in fourth, fifth and seventh place, respectively.