XC: Victoria Vikes defend both team titles at Canada West Championships in Calgary

Recap by Calgary Dinos Sports Information

CALGARY – The University of Victoria Vikes defended both their men’s and women’s team titles at the 2026 Canada West Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Oct. 31, winning at St. Mary’s University in a championship hosted by the University of Calgary.

The Vikes women captured a third consecutive conference title, their 24th overall, while the men repeated as champions for their 18th victory in program history. Victoria head coach Hilary Stellingwerff was crowned Canada West Coach of the Year on both the men’s and women’s sides following their sweep.

The women’s race came down to a handful of points. Victoria finished with 35 points, four ahead of the UBC Thunderbirds with 39, with its top runners placing first, second and fourth. The University of Alberta Pandas were third with 82. The men’s race had a much wider gap. Victoria scored 39 points, 24 ahead of the University of Regina Cougars with 63 and 27 ahead of third-place UBC with 66, as its top three runners finished third, fourth and fifth.

Stellingwerff called the women’s team race with UBC a tight battle.

“We’re proud to come out on top against such strong competition on both sides. They ran really gutsy out there. It was a tough, technical course through the forest, and we’re really proud of how they maintained their composure and pushed hard to the finish line.”

UBC’s Maximilien Filion won the men’s individual title in 25:52, eight seconds ahead of Regina’s Ian Teichler. Victoria’s Daniel Damian took bronze in 26:14. Filion, who finished second behind Victoria’s Jaxon Kuchar a year ago, has now medalled two years in a row and was named the male Athlete of the Year. Kuchar, the defending champion, placed fifth.

Filion said the result meant more after a rough week leading up to the race.

“I had a really good build-up to this race. I did have a little setback last week with my glutes. But a huge thanks to the athletic therapists, physios, massage therapists and coaching staff at UBC for helping me get back to my best for today.”

On the women’s side, Victoria's Madelyn Eybergen won the individual title in 29:16, 41 seconds clear of teammate Marisha Thompson. Abigail Yakemchuk of UBC Okanagan was third in 30:44.

Eybergen has now medalled three years in a row, taking bronze in 2024 and silver last year before this year’s gold, and she was named the female Athlete of the Year.

Eybergen said she kept things simple heading into the race.

“I did a little taper run, as I usually do before a big race. I felt good out there, I got a good night’s sleep, ate well, and stuck to my usual routine that I feel confident with and I’m happy with how it turned out.”

UBC’s Randy Ren was named male Rookie of the Year after placing 16th overall, while Victoria’s Hailie Robertson earned the female honour with a 20th-place finish. Regina’s Brett MacLean received the Student-Athlete Community Service Award in the male competition.

The host University of Calgary Dinos were well represented in the honours. Amaia Ervin-Arambarri received the Student-Athlete Community Service Award in the female competition and was named to the women’s Second All-Star Team, while Ethan Meyer was named to the men’s First All-Star Team and Max Cook to the men’s Second All-Star Team.

Runners will now turn to the U SPORTS Cross Country Championships on Nov. 14, hosted by McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont.

2026 Canada West Award Winners

​Men’s Team Coach of the Year: Hilary Stellingwerff, Victoria
​Women’s Team Coach of the Year: Hilary Stellingwerff, Victoria

Rookie of the Year, Male Competition: Randy Ren, UBC
​Rookie of the Year, Female Competition: Hailie Robertson, Victoria

Student-Athlete Community Service Award, Male Competition: Brett MacLean, Regina
​Student-Athlete Community Service Award, Female Competition: Amaia Ervin-Arambarri, Calgary

Athlete of the Year, Male Competition: Maximilien Filion, UBC
​Athlete of the Year, Female Competition: Madelyn Eybergen, Victoria

Men’s Champion (P.S. Warren Trophy): Victoria Vikes
​Women’s Champion (Harold Wright Trophy): Victoria Vikes

2026 Canada West All-Stars

Men’s First Team

Men’s Second Team

Women’s First Team

Women’s Second Team

2026 Canada West All-Rookie Team

Men’s

Women’s