2026 women's cross country team making noise media day

Anneliese Anderson-Caffee

Cross Country Looks to Make a Move in 2026

By Mark Albanese, Director of Sports Communication

The Pacific Lutheran University men’s and women’s cross country programs return a majority of the roster from a season ago as the Lutes charge headfirst into the first race of the season tomorrow under second year Head Coach Francis Reynolds.

For the women, PLU returns its top seven scoring runners from the 2025 Northwest Conference Championships where they finished seventh overall, and return eight of the nine total runners that raced at the conference meet.

The Lute men are in a similar boat. They lose Third Team All-Conference selection Kai Sorensen but return seven runners with experience at the conference meet where PLU placed eighth overall.

Now in his second year, Reynolds is reaping the benefits of being with the student-athletes for an entire calendar year.

The big thing is having more interactions with the student-athletes, learning about them and their running habits a little bit more. I don’t believe there’s just one right way to do things so it’s important to do what works with the student-athlete.

Having a year working with them both in the fall and this past spring (on the track), I now know each of the student-athletes a little bit better, and I’m excited to tap into their strengths and work on their weaknesses.

Francis Reynolds

The Lutes will have 10 runners on the women’s team this fall, including eight returners and the top seven runners from 2025. Last year the Lutes placed seventh at the conference meet held on a rainy day at PLU, finishing 57 points ahead of Linfield University.

We’re really excited about the women’s team. It’s the same scoring squad plus a couple of first-years. What was nice with the women’s team last year was there wasn’t any expectations so it was a year to go through the program and develop. I’d like to think they could all say that they grew last year and developed and this year they can really put that into action.

They all had strong springs and going through things last fall and coming out stronger will pay dividends this year.

I’ve been impressed early on with their first couple of workouts and I think there’s some fitness there and really encouraging them to be competitive because the middle of the conference is pretty open. So this is a year we could move up in the conference standings and looking at our roster this could be one-, two-, three-year stretch of climbing the rankings. So not just excited for this year but for the years to come.

2026 PLU Women's Roster

One of the leaders of the team will be senior Jessalyn Robles. A Tacoma, Washington native from Mount Tahoma High School, Robles transitioned from soccer to cross country and hasn’t looked back, placing 54th at the NWC Cross Country Meet last fall before placing eighth in the 800-meters this spring at the conference track meet.

“Jessalyn has been one of our low sticks the last couple of years after coming over from soccer. She had a really success campaign in the spring in the mid-distances and she looks fit.”

Natalie Moran-Padilla is the squad’s other senior leader. The Federal Way, Washington native from Todd Beamer High School was 61st at the conference meet last fall and had a banner spring with collegiate bests in the 1,500-meters, 5,000-meters, 3,000-meters, and 10,000-meters.

Natalie Moran-Padilla is looking really good early on. I think she’s a really good leader on this team, one of our captains. I’m looking forward to them being a tight knit group.

Showing a ton of improvement heading into the season is Mariel Robles, a sophomore and younger sister to Jessalyn. The Mount Tahoma High School graduate finished 70th at the NWC Championships and this spring raced in eight meets on the track ranging from 1,500-meters to 5,000-meters.

“Her growth has been impressive and I’m keen to see her really go after it, she can mix it up. And hopefully when the gun goes off on Saturday’s she can really get after it and compete with some of the best runners in the NWC. She’s one that I think will have a big step up from last year to this year.”

Pacific Lutheran University hosts the Cross Country Northwest Conference Championships, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, at the PLU Meadows Course. (PLU Photo / Joshua Kyles)

Sal Mattivi returns for her junior campaign. A Bremerton, Washington native, Mattivi was the top finishing Lute at the 2025 NWC Championships, finishing 30th overall after placing 22nd in her debut season in 2024.

“I’m curious to see what she will be at this first meet but she can really be up there and I think she can be in the mix with Jessalyn, and I think can have a really good season.”

Also returning for the Lutes is junior Sophia Czar from Tacoma’s Stadium High School, sophomore Piper Gannon from Ridgefield, Washington, junior Rachel Rosario from Tacoma’s Washington High School, and Maddie Mitchell from Federal Way, Washington and Decatur High School.

All four raced at the league meet with Mitchell placing 48th, Rosario 49th, Gannon 63rd, and Czar 75th.

PLU boasts a pair of newcomers in Prosser, Washington native Ellie Norris and Juneau, Alaska native Della Mearig.

First thing you’ll notice about Ellie is just a tremendous amount of energy. She’s a really good fit on this team and fit in right away. Mid-distance background but is keen to mix it up on the cross country course. Her thing will be running with people on a team which she’s not used to. So again I think with Jess’s leadership and Sal’s leadership I think she will be a factor for the team.

I know that with 400-meters left in a race, Ellie will be a handful to compete against. So just getting her used to collegiate training and bumping up the extra kilometer but if I can get her through 5.5 kilometers she’ll be a force to be reckoned with that last half kilometer.

Mearig joins the Lutes from Juneau-Douglas High School.

It’s still pretty early on but Della’s summer training has been impressive. She’s done some good miles up there in Alaska. And in her first couple of workouts has been willing to get in with Natalie and Rachel. I’m always a fan of in the early days seeing if the first years will mix it up with some of the veterans and I really like the pods that are starting to develop right now with our women. I’m always a believer if you have that pod and someone is feeling good they will drive the rest of the group with them so I’m fortunate that early on I don’t necessarily have to tell people they should be running with this person and don’t be afraid to step it up.

Noah Friederich leads the men’s team that with seven returners and one newcomer will need contributions from everyone to move up the league standings in 2026.

“Last year was kind of a learning curve and coming through this year I think things won’t be as new to them as it was last year and they’ll trust the work they did last year.

There were PRs left, right, and center, last year so everyone knows that can be done. Unfortunately the conference championships last year was not the most ideal conditions. I know most of the guys weren’t terribly pleased with their results at conference, and we really want to focus on being prepared for that day. All of our training will be geared towards the conference championships on Oct. 31.”

PLU Men's Roster

A Mill Creek, Washington native and a graduate from Henry Jackson High School, Friedrich is the leader on and off the course. The senior has run at the NWC cross country meet in each of the last three seasons, placing 69th last fall while during the track season, placed 18th in the 10,000-meters at the league meet.

“Noah’s definitely our low stick, both leadership-wise and talent-wise. We expect big things from him. At the conference championships last year in cross country he didn’t have his best day and unfortunately was sick before the track championships so we’re going to be making sure he's primed and ready to go at the conference championships because he can mix it up.

I know that if he’s physically ready to go, then top 15 is definitely in the cards for him.”

Also bringing the senior leadership is Jonah Andrews from nearby Silas High School in Tacoma. Andrews raced at the last two NWC Championships for the Lutes, placing 72nd last fall.

“Jonah’s been good at taking the first and second years under his wing. He’s a sensible runner. He’s done many an 8K and he knows what’s too aggressive, what’s too conservative. He’s a smart racer.”

Corban Piper is the lone junior. With two NWC meets under his belt, the Rapid City, South Dakota native showed some speed this spring, earning a personal best in the 1,500-meters and raced in eight meets on the track.

Juneau, Alaska native Corder Janes is back for his sophomore campaign after placing 61st at the NWC meet last November along with fellow sophomores Isaiah Bradley (Longview, Wash.), Justin Garrett (Port Angeles, Wash.), and Caleb Rigney (Spanaway, Wash.).

I think Jonah, Corbin, and Caleb can all run together and have a nice end to our scoring pack. Again, I think all three have been putting in more work this summer than last and so I’m hoping they’ll move our scoring up a bit.

Joining the team from Pocatello, Idaho and Century High School is first-year Leif Anderson.

“Leif definitely has a lot of potential. He’s pretty young and raw. Only two cross country seasons under his belt in high school but he’s run under 17 minutes (in the 5K). I think the key with him is being healthy. Regardless of his mileage, 8K is going to be a learning curve for him. But if he’s healthy, running with Jonah, Corbin, and Caleb, and those are really nice wings for him to run under.”

Joining the staff this year is Daryl Martin who brings experience as a state champion runner at Bellarmine Prep along with four years of Division I experience at University of San Francisco.

“I think she’ll be really good working with our teams as they transition to that next competitive level. Teaching the little things you can do to dial it up, she’ll do a lot of good for both teams.”

The Lutes will need to maximize their racing opportunities this fall with just four races prior to the conference meet, including just three at the full 6/8K distance. That first full distance race happens at home as the Lutes host the PLU Invitational on Sept. 19.

It’s tricky because the first race is under-distance, so we really have three proper meets. Friday’s I’m just gathering information and this is their first litmus test of what summer training proved.

The first full distance meet is the PLU Invite which I’m really excited to host. It’s learning the distance and I want to make sure that if mistakes are made, which I’m sure there will be, we’re identifying them just so we can fix them two weeks later.

From there, the Lutes will have two more meets prior to the conference championships with the Frank Knott Classic on Oct. 3 taking place at The Course in Spokane which is the site for the 2026 NCAA West Region Championships before going to the George Oja Invitational on Oct. 17, a meet contested at Oak Knoll Golf Course just two weeks before the conference meet will be run on the same layout.

I’m excited that our second race is going to be at our regionals course, which looks to be a phenomenal cross country specific course, completely on grass in Spokane, and I know that our third (6/8K ) meet is on the conference course which is a nice 2K loop. I think that race is going to be a conference preview to learn the course, figure out a race strategy, and then we can rep-licate it or tweak it for two weeks later.

Each race is going to serve a purpose, it’s tricky that there’s only three (full distance) opportunities before the championships, so I really want to make sure that both teams are focused and they know that there’s an objective for each race.

It all gets started tomorrow as the crew heads to McIver State Park in Estacada, Oregon for the Lewis & Clark XC Opener.

I’m excited for this new chapter of PLU cross country. I know last year was kind of crazy but I think that the student-athletes are doing good work. I’m excited about our women’s team, it’s a good vibe, and I’m excited for the student-athletes to compete this year. They’re a bunch that once you let them go they’ll be competitive and I think it’s going to be a good next couple of months.

2026 PLU Cross Country Schedule