Gans Creek Classic starts 2026 season for No. 22 Razorbacks

COLUMBIA – Arkansas opens the 2026 cross country season on Friday, September 25 at the eighth annual Gans Creek Classic hosted by Missouri.

The Razorbacks, currently ranked No. 22 nationally, will compete over a 6,000m distance with the Gold Invitational race starting at 8 a.m. A Black Open 6k race starts at 9:45 a.m. The meet will be live streamed on SEC Network +.

Teams are limited to 10 runners in the Invitational race with additional entries competing in the open race.

Host Missouri is ranked No. 26 nationally. Other schools in the Gans Creek Classic include Cincinnati, Colorado State, Drake, Florida State, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Murray State, North Dakota, Northern Iowa, Ole Miss, Pacific, Portland, Rice, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and Wyoming.

“We won’t be at full strength until the Chile Pepper Festival next week,” noted Arkansas women’s cross country coach Marc Burns. “This weekend for us is an opportunity to kind of see where everybody else is at and give our newcomers their first collegiate race.

“It’s really important for them since it will be their first 6k race. That’s a mental hurdle for the younger women the first time they run a 6k. We’ve got to allow them to make that transition a little bit. We’re going to be looking to work really hard on the second 3k loop.”

While the incoming freshmen adjust to 6,000m after racing 5,000m in high school cross country, transfer Isca Chelangat returns to the Gans Creek course she raced on last November to place seventh in the NCAA Championships with a time of 18:56.1 to earn All-America status competing with Oklahoma State.

“Isca has been great and has fit in well with the team,” stated Burns. “I think she’s enjoyed getting to know the rest of the team. She’s a beast and there’s only one speed for her. It’s pedal to the metal, and when she goes that’s it she doesn’t look back.

“She really only knows one way to do things. She’s going to get her money’s worth every practice and every single race. Just really talented with a huge aerobic engine. I’m really looking forward to seeing her in a Razorback uniform and getting after it up front this weekend.”

Paityn Noe, who finished seventh in the 2025 NCAA Championship, will return to action for the Razorbacks at the Chile Pepper Festival held on the Agri Park course on October 3.

In addition to the Arkansas newcomers adjusting to racing over 6,000m, they will get exposure to the Gans Creek course that will host the SEC Championships on October 30.

“Our key this weekend is putting together a good race plan, executing it, letting the chips fall where they fall at the end of the race,” said Burns. “We certainly want to beat a lot of people. I don’t know if we’re deep enough to win the race, but I think we can be battling in the top three to five. I think that will be really good for us.”