The offseason is here, with all of Arizona’s sports done for 2024-25 season and the 2025-26 campaigns are still a little ways away.
This means only one thing, it is a great time to take stock on where some of the programs stand now. Over the next few weeks, we’ll take a look at each of the UA’s men’s and women’s athletic programs to see what shape they’re in and what prospects they have for the near future.
We’ll break down each team and evaluate how it is performing under its current coaching staff, looking at the state of the program before he/she arrived and comparing it to now while also looking at what year two in the Big 12 might look like.
Next up: Bernard Lagat’s cross country program.
How it looked before
In January of 2021, Lagat was promoted to lead the program after long-time head coach James Li retired.
Since then, he has been working to shift the momentum of the program to be a contender in meets and championships.
Lagat has led both the men and women’s teams to first place finishes, one and three respectively, over the last three seasons across various meets.
However, postseason success has been something the Wildcats have yet to find.
Where things stand now
This season brought new life as Arizona completed its first season in the Big 12. The Wildcats also competed in four meets before any of the postseason competitions.
In the NMSU Lori Fitzgerald Open, the mens team finished in third and the womens in second. Following up with the Cougar Classic, the teams finished in fourth and eighth respectively.
While both teams finished third in the Dave Murray Invitational, the meet was highlighted by senior Lydia Russell finishing in first overall for the women.
Russell finished with a final time of 20:21.4 and led from the start.
The mens team was able to secure its only first place finish of the season in the Highlander Invitational, while the women finished in third.
Freshman Gideon Mengich finished first overall for the men with a final time of 23:42.8.
Big 12 vs. Pac-12
Arizona was unable to make a good first impression in its first Big 12 Championships appearance. The men finished in ninth and the women finished 16th.
The Wildcats, under Lagat, would place in similar spots during their time in the Pac-12. Being in the bottom half of both league competitions is a trend that Lagat does not want to continue.
One of the biggest differences between the Pac-12 and the Big 12 is the fact that Arizona doesn’t have to go through the historical juggernauts of Oregon, Washington, Stanford, and more.
Nevertheless, there are still powerhouse programs like BYU, Iowa State, West Virginia, and Oklahoma State.
While it may look like Arizona may be stuck in the same positions it has been in, going up against these programs will only set a higher bar for the Wildcats to follow.
One big question
Will Arizona start to consistently finish in the top of the league and create sustained success? The good news for Arizona, it brings back five of the eight runners for the men, including Mengich who had the lone first place finish for the men. For the women, 11 of the 14 runners come back.
Molly Lakustiak will lead the women, who had three of the six best times for Arizona. Mengich will lead the men, and despite being only a sophomore he will be front facing for the program.
If Mengich can continue his success, it may just elevate the rest of the runners to improve on their times. The potential of the cross country program could lead to a brighter future.