SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist University men's and women's cross country have officially released their schedules for the 2026 season. This season will feature meets at four different universities, ending with the Great American Conference Championships.
The 2026 campaign will begin on Sept. 3 with a trip to Tulsa for Rogers State University's annual "Distance After Dark" meet at the Mohawk Sports Complex. Last season, the OBU men finished fourth out of 10 teams in the four-mile run competition. The Bison women finished third out of 10 teams in the 5k team event.
OBU's next matchup will take place on Sept. 23 in Stillwater as the Bison will compete in the Oklahoma State Cowboy Jamboree. Last season, 19 universities competed in this high-level affair. This will be OBU's first time competing in the event since 2016.
Following this matchup, the Bison will be featured at the University of Arkansas's 38th annual Chile Pepper Festival. This event will take place on Oct. 3 and will feature schools from across the country.
OBU wraps up the regular season on Oct. 17 at the Dallas Baptist Old Glory Gallop at AP Ranch in Fort Worth, TX. The Bison are looking to build off a 10th place finish in both the men's 8k and women's 5k run team events last season. Over 40 different schools competed in the event last season.
The GAC Championships will wrap up the 2026 campaign on Nov. 7. After taking place at the University of Arkansas at Monticello last season, the event will move to Enid for 2026.
OBU had two top-12 finishers in the women's 5k meter run last season, Shayna Hendrix (11th) and Kieran Paxton (12th). In the men's 8k final, the Bison finished with three top-10 finishes from Damien Williams (4th), Emory Crayton (5th), and Zachary Williams (10th).
This past season, the OBU men qualified for the NCAA National Championship for the first time in school history after finishing seventh at the NCAA Central Regional. The women finished 17th in the regional.
This year's Central Regional takes place on Nov. 21 at Yankton Trail Park in Sioux Falls, SD and the NCAA National Championships are slated for Dec. 4 at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, KS.
