The Lewis & Clark Cross Country (XC) team kicked off their 2026 season on Sept. 4, hosting the LC XC Opener at Milo McIver Park in Estacada, Oregon. Both the men’s and women’s XC teams saw success in this initial race. Men’s XC placed first out of five teams racing in their division, and women’s XC placed fourth out of five.
Two athletes, Quinn Higgins ’27 and Ava Stewart ’30, gave stand-out performances on the 5k course. Following the McIver race, both were announced as Northwest Conference Athlete of the Week. The Northwest Conference bestows this award on two outstanding athletes, one male and one female, each week. It is rare for one school to claim both awards in one week, but the efforts of Higgins and Stewart outweighed those odds.
In many XC races, a mixture of DII, Club, NAIA, DIII and sometimes even DI schools may be racing at once. Higgins placed second, only 2.2 seconds behind the first-place time. For Higgins this marks a promising start to his senior season.
“It was a really solid race for me,” Higgins said. “It was the first healthy race I’ve had since the early track season, so being able to run 15:03 on a pretty tough course is something I’m really proud of.”
The Milo McIver course is in fact a challenging course. Made up of grass and wood chip trails, it throws a decent number of hills in front of its athletes. Higgins planned and executed a successful race, sitting firmly in the front of the pack and attempting to move ahead in the final 800 meters.
“I was hoping to get the win, but Portland State’s Ari Smith got me in the last 100 meters,” Higgins said. “I got another shot at him the next week at Ash Creek and was able to catch him in the last 1000 meters.”
For Ava Stewart, this race marked her collegiate cross-country debut. Stewart put up a time of 19:52.1 for the 5k race, placing first in the NCAA Division III section of the competition. This was her first competitive 5k since being injured her junior year of high school.
“I was excited,” Stewart said. “I did not know where my fitness was. I channeled the excitement into just having fun the entire race.”
For Stewart, a competitive, positive mindset was instrumental in not only winning her division, but also achieving her personal goal of breaking 20 minutes. Going sub-20 in the 5k is a major barrier for many runners. It demands maintaining an average pace of less than 6:26 per mile and sustaining that pace for the roughly 3-mile-long race. Stewart was able to find strength in her mindset, particularly in the challenging middle meters of the race.
“Just being able to focus on: Oh, there’s a girl up there. I’m gonna go catch her and then pass her. That mentality really carried me through the race. I was coming through the last kilometer, all of our teammates were out cheering, and I just felt myself surge,” Stewart said.
And surge she did. As mentioned, Stewart crossed the finish line first in her division.
But the cross country season has only just begun. Both Higgins and Stewart look forward to the many races on their horizon with excitement. Having a senior and a freshman receive recognition from the Northwest Conference is a good sign for LC Cross Country.
“It’s super exciting to share this with Ava,” Higgins said. “We have a lot of really talented young athletes on the team who have already brought a lot to the team this season.”
Stewart shared this sentiment. “I think that there is so much young talent and potential on the team right now, and it’s just so exciting seeing the progression,” she said.
Cross Country’s next competition will be the Frank Knott Classic on Oct. 3, hosted by Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington. With the second half of the season still in front of them, there is no telling what LC XC may accomplish. Roll Otts!
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