- The Utah women's cross country team finished eighth of 33 at the Nuttycombe Invitational after a runner-up finish at John McNichols, and heads to the Big 12 Championships on Oct. 31 in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
- Utah Women's Cross Country connect back to University of Utah and the wider track & field picture.
- The story is backed by 6 sources and a visible last-verified date.
October 18, 2026
October 18, 2026
4 min / 876 words
6 official links
Utah women's cross country has run four meets in 2026 and has two top-three team finishes and an eighth-place finish against a 33-team field to show for them. The Utes, described in Utah's own release as ranked No. 14 going into the Nuttycombe Invitational on October 9, now head toward the Big 12 Conference Championships on Saturday, October 31, in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The Utah women's cross country team page links the official roster and schedule for every meet.
A women's program with one squad
Utah's cross country roster lists 17 runners, all women, with class labels from freshman through fifth-year. Utah's releases call the squad the Women of Utah, and the official site carries one cross country roster page and one schedule page. Kyle Kepler is listed as head cross country and track and field coach, and the Utes compete in the Big 12.
Nuttycombe: eighth of 33 teams
At the Nuttycombe Invitational in Verona, Wisconsin, on October 9, the Utes scored 277 points and finished eighth of 33 teams. Erin Vringer, listed on the roster as a fifth-year from Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, led Utah in 29th place in 19:57.1, her best at this race as a collegian. Millie Wilcox, a fifth-year from Holladay, Utah, was 34th in 20:04.1. Annastasia Peters, a senior from Post Falls, Idaho, was 47th in 20:15.1, graduate transfer Tayla Gunton was 69th in 20:31.7 and Josie Fale was 98th in 20:52.2 to complete the scoring five.
The result is a step up from the Utes' last time at the same meet. The 2025 schedule page lists Utah 10th of 30 teams at the Nuttycombe Invitational. In 2026 the Utes finished two places higher against three more teams, which is the most direct year-to-year comparison the schedule offers.
McNichols: second of 28 with a tight pack
Three weeks earlier, on September 19, the Utes ran the John McNichols Invitational in Terre Haute, Indiana, and finished second of 28 teams with 107 points. The release put the squad at No. 20 and noted that all five Utah scorers placed in the top 27. Vringer was 10th in 20:12.6, Peters was 21st and Gunton, listed as a graduate from Cairns, Queensland, Australia, whose previous school was Iona, was 23rd in her first race for Utah. Fale was 26th in a new 6K personal best, and Wilcox was 27th.
Vringer's run earned her the Big 12 Runner of the Week honor, which Utah announced on September 23. A scoring five that finishes within 17 places of each other, as the McNichols five did, is the kind of tight pack that cross country scoring rewards, and it produced the highest team finish among the 2026 meets that have a printed team place.
The September opener and the Beehive
Utah's season began on Friday, September 4, at the UVU Invitational at Scera Park in Orem, where the Utes were third of eight teams with 76 points. Mackenzie Rogers was the low stick for Utah, 13th overall in 16:44.82 over three miles. Zoey Nilsson was 23rd, her twin Brielle Nilsson was 27th and Piper Simpson was 28th, and all three were among the five scorers.
Utah hosted the Beehive Invitational at Sugar House Park in Salt Lake City on September 10. The schedule page prints no team score for the meet.
How 2025 ended
The 2025 schedule page shows how far Utah went last fall. The Utes were second of eight at the UVU Invitational, second of five at the Beehive Invitational, fifth of 31 at the Gans Creek Classic and 10th of 30 at the Nuttycombe Invitational. They finished sixth of 16 teams at the Big 12 Championships in Lawrence, Kansas, on October 31, fifth of 19 at the NCAA Mountain Regionals at the Regional Athletic Complex in Salt Lake City on November 14 and 17th of 32 at the NCAA Championships in Columbia, Missouri, on November 22.
What comes next
The 2026 schedule lists three meets left. The Big 12 Championships are on October 31 at 9:00 a.m. at the Greiner Family Cross Country Course in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and are listed on ESPN+. The NCAA Mountain Regionals follow on November 13 at the UNM North Golf Course in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the NCAA Championships are on November 21 at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Rogers, the Nilsson twins and Simpson all scored for Utah in September, and the roster lists 17 runners. More Utah coverage is on the track and field page.
Key facts:
- Head coach: Kyle Kepler, Head Cross Country/Track & Field Coach
- Roster: 17 runners, all women; the squad is called the Women of Utah
- Nuttycombe Invitational, Oct. 9: eighth of 33 teams, 277 points; Erin Vringer 29th in 19:57.1
- John McNichols Invitational, Sept. 19: second of 28 teams, 107 points; all five scorers in the top 27
- UVU Invitational, Sept. 4: third of eight teams, 76 points
- Honor: Erin Vringer named Big 12 Runner of the Week (Sept. 23)
- 2025 finish: sixth of 16 at the Big 12 Championships, fifth of 19 at the NCAA Mountain Regionals, 17th of 32 at the NCAA Championships
- Next: Big 12 Championships, Oct. 31, 9:00 a.m., Stillwater, Okla. (ESPN+); NCAA Mountain Regionals Nov. 13; NCAA Championships Nov. 21