COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Junior
Elizabeth Khatevi of the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi cross country team successfully defended her title at the NCAA South Central Regional Championships on Friday morning, taking home the individual victory for the second consecutive season and punching her ticket to next week's NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Coming in as the reigning champion after emerging victorious last year in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Khatevi put together an even stronger performance in College Station, finishing the women's 6K with a time of 18:58.2 that was more than 35 seconds better than her mark from 2025. The three-time Southland Conference champ crossed the line eight seconds faster than second- and third-place Ruth Kimeli of Baylor and Isca Chelangat of Arkansas in Saturday's race, and among the nine Regional Championships to take place on the day, her time was the third-best overall, behind only NC State's Hannah Gapes and South Carolina's Salma Elbadra in the Southeast race and Oregon's Diana Cherotich in the West race.
The triumph helped Khatevi further etch her place as one of the all-time greats in A&M-Corpus Christi program history, as it made her just the fourth Islander to ever qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championships in back-to-back seasons, joining Hall of Honor Inductee Shadrack Songok in 2006 and 2007, Anne Ronoh in 2008 and 2009, and Patrick Kimeli in 2010 and 2011. Last year, she recorded the highest-ever women's finish at nationals in program history by placing 46
th, a mark that she will have her sights set on in Indiana next week.
Khatevi's star performance helped the Islanders rank in the top half of the women's team standings to open up the day, finishing 10
th overall out of 25 schools in total. The next best finisher after Khatevi was
Phylis Kibet, who came in a very respectable 32
nd place after crossing the line in 20:28.0.
Faith Ramos and
Caroline Yegon finished next to each other in 81
st and 92
nd place respectively with times of 21:27.5 and 21:34.7, and rounding out the points scorers was
Neele Heyne in 124
th with a mark of 22:14.0. Overall, the women finished as the second-best team in the Southland Conference out of eight and placed right in front of power conference foe Baylor.
In the second race of the day, the Islanders also got a standout effort in the men's 10K from junior
Diego Canto, who finished in 20
th place overall with a time of 30:21.5 to earn himself a spot on the NCAA South Central All-Region Team. Canto's finish represented a huge improvement upon his showing in the same race last year, jumping all the way up from 61
st in 2025 and shaving more than a minute and a half off his time of 31:55.6 in Arkansas. The Corpus Christi native adds another honor to his trophy case with Saturday's result, having been named to the All-Southland Conference Second Team after finishing seventh at the conference championships two weeks ago.
"I am beyond proud of Elizabeth and Diego," Islanders head coach
Bryan Jackson said. "They both have had fantastic seasons. For Elizabeth, the job is not done, and there are some big goals we are chasing in eight days. As for Diego, that was the cherry on top of a terrific season. They both continue to show what is possible when you trust the process and are consistent with how you train throughout the year."
With Canto leading the way, the men earned an even better finish than the women did, ranking seventh in the standings out of 23 teams while outplacing five different Southland schools as well as Texas, Houston and LSU. The second man across the line for the Islanders was freshman
Ezra Chelimo, who followed up a fifth-place effort at conference two weeks ago in his first ever collegiate race by finishing in 30
th this time around with a time of 30:49.3.
Mathayo Bundotich placed not far behind his compatriot in 43
rd with a time of 31:15.9, and the duo of
Andrew Rivas and
Brendan DiStefano rounded out the top five in 79
th and 84
th respectively after finishing in 32:00.1 and 32:07.8.
The Islanders will now wrap up the 2026 cross country season at the NCAA Championships next week, when Khatevi hits the big stage at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Women's Results
1.
Elizabeth Khatevi: 18:58.2
32.
Phylis Kibet: 20:28.0
81.
Faith Ramos: 21:27.5
92.
Caroline Yegon: 21:34.7
124.
Neele Heyne: 22:14.0
Men's Results
20.
Diego Canto: 30:21.5
30.
Ezra Chelimo: 30:49.3
43.
Mathayo Bundotich: 31:15.9
79.
Andrew Rivas: 32:00.1
84.
Brendan DiStefano: 32:07.8
136.
Gary Custer: 34:40.8
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