Players Mentioned
Defending MAC Champion Rockets Announce 2026 Schedules
8/7/2026 12:13:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
Toledo men and women to open season on Friday, Sept. 11 at Spartan Invitational
TOLEDO, Ohio – The reigning Mid-American Conference champion Toledo men's and women's cross country programs have finalized their 2026 schedules, Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Andrea Grove-McDonough announced on Friday.
Each team's schedule includes five regular-season meets before competing in the MAC Championship and NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championship. The Toledo women will be aiming for their sixth consecutive MAC title, while the Rocket men are looking to capture their third straight conference crown.
Toledo will open its season at Michigan State's Spartan Invitational on Friday, Sept. 11 in East Lansing, Mich. The Rockets will then head to Terre Haute, Ind. on Sept. 19 to compete at Indiana State's John McNichols Invitational, the site of the 2026 NCAA Championships.
Both squads open the month of October at Notre Dame's Joe Piane Invitational on Friday, Oct. 2 in South Bend, Ind. The women will then travel to Madison, Wis. for the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational on Friday, Oct. 9, with the men returning to Terre Haute for the Pre-National Invitational on Friday, Oct. 16. The men's and women's teams will close out the regular season at the EMU Fall Classic on Friday, Oct. 23.
Postseason competition begins with the MAC Championships in Kalamazoo, Mich. on Friday, Oct. 30 with the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championship on Friday, Nov. 13 in East Lansing. The NCAA Championships will be held on Saturday, Nov. 21 in Terre Haute.
The women's squad placed third out of 32 teams at last season's regional championship. Senior Karina James returns after becoming the eighth Rocket to win the MAC individual title. She will be joined by First-Team All-MAC honorees Melody Jebiwot, Dorcas Kiptanui and Lianna Surtz.
The men's team earned a program-best seventh-place regional showing, and junior Joad Martinho qualified for the NCAA Championships with a fifth-place individual finish. It marked the second-straight year a Rocket qualified for the national meet. Martinho will be joined by senior Peter McMahon as returning First-Team All-MAC honorees for Toledo. The Rockets also return Second-Team All-MAC selections Loann Brelivet and Sibonelo Khumalo.
