HONOLULU, O'ahu--  The University of Hawai'i cross country season has been a steady climb of production since it began on Sept. 3 to this weekend with The Big West Championships in Riverside, California.
 
"We have shown so much growth this season," said head coach Tim Boyce. "We've accomplished many of the goals we set for ourselves as a team and as individuals back in August. The Championship meet is one we look forward to, but it doesn't define us and what we've done together this year. I'm excited to see how it all comes together."
 
Building up momentum into this season. UH placed eighth overall at the Wildhorse Golf Course in Davis, Calif., in 2021 with a score of 219 in The Big West Championships. UC Davis took home the team title with 26 points as Aggies had five runners finish in the top 10. Sophia Morgan led UH with a time of 22:22.7 for 38th overall, followed by senior Olivia Hill and then freshman Sam North rounding out their top three finishes in the meet.
 
In the final tune-up before the championship on Oct. 15, the Rainbow Wahine recorded one of its strongest meets in recent history. Seniors Caelan Miller and Morgan were joined by North to record three top-10 times at UH in the 6k event. In the event, UH went up against seven other Big West teams, beating out both CSUN and CSU Bakersfield while trailing UC San Diego by a minute and a half in total team time as the nearest conference competitor.
 
Saturday's course will be a familiar one for all competing teams as every Big West school ran on the same course as a part of the UC Riverside Invitational on Sept. 17. Cal Poly led the way for the Big West placing second with 141 points, with a team time of 1:45:06, compared to UH at 21st overall with 552 points and a team time of 1:51:19. The course is deceptive, appearing flat, fast and easy. Still, there is a significant difference in elevation from one end of the course to the other. At about the 1.5-mile mark, the west end is 100 feet lower than the start/finish area.
 
Saturday's championship meet will begin at 8:30 a.m. and will air on ESPN+.