SEASIDE, Calif. — With an experienced senior class leading the way, Cal State Monterey Bay men's and women's cross country begins its 2026 campaign Saturday at the Coyote Challenge in San Bernardino.
 
Head Coach Greg Rhines' squad enters the fall looking to build upon a 2025 season that produced 13 performances across its men's and women's programs that landed on the school's all-time lists during the season.
 
The 2026 campaign will feature four regular-season meets before the Otters return to San Bernardino for the CCAA Championships on Nov. 7.
 
"I am excited at the beginning of every season," Coach Rhines said. "This year I feel that amazing things will happen in my programs. Excited is an understatement. From what I've seen on these teams early on, things are going to happen."
 
CSUMB returns a veteran-heavy roster featuring four seniors and six juniors, giving the Otters 10 upperclassmen among their 15 runners on the women's side. That experience should provide Monterey Bay with both leadership and competition for spots in its scoring five throughout the fall.
 
At the front of that group are seniors Daniela Munguia and Cozette Wood, two of CSUMB's most consistent performers from a season ago.
 
Munguia enters her final season after producing several of Monterey Bay's top performances in 2025.
 
The San Jose native delivered a breakout performance at the UCR Invitational, running a season-best 17:59.7 over 5K to place seventh overall. She later finished 17th at the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational before representing the Otters at both the CCAA Championships and NCAA West Regional.
 
Wood provides another proven championship runner. She competed in all six meets last fall and produced a season-best 5K of 18:25.8 before running 22:09.5 over 6K at the Bronco Invitational. She finished 24th at the CCAA Championships and closed the season by running 22:05.0 at the NCAA West Regional.
 
Cassidy Andreadakis and Ava Wettlaufer complete CSUMB's four-member senior class. Wettlaufer returns for her fourth season with the program, giving the Otters another runner familiar with the demands of CCAA competition.
 
The Otters' experience doesn't end with their seniors. Junior Rachel Hoops returns after establishing herself as one of Monterey Bay's leading runners in 2025. Hoops opened last season with a 16th-place finish at the Biola Invitational and followed with an 18:21.4 performance at UCR. Her best 6K came at the Bronco Invitational, where she crossed in 21:59.9. She also represented CSUMB at both the CCAA Championships and NCAA West Regional.
 
Angeline Gutierrez gives the Otters another returning regional competitor. She ran 18:27.3 over 5K at UCR and posted a 22:15.7 at the NCAA West Regional after finishing 38th at the CCAA Championships.
 
Fellow juniors Hannah Amundsen, Hannah Fish, Deia Kerseg and Mariessa McLaughlin add further depth to one of the most experienced portions of the roster. McLaughlin competed at the CCAA Championships last season, while Fish returns for her third year in the program.
 
While CSUMB brings back plenty of experience, several younger runners could make an immediate impact.
 
Sophomore Adriana Lemus returns after making significant progress during her freshman campaign. Lemus lowered her 5K time to 19:15.9 at UCR before recording a season-best 6K of 23:39.8 at the Bronco Invitational.
 
She is joined in the sophomore class by Samantha Buttitta, who comes to Monterey Bay after beginning her collegiate career at Oregon State.
 
The freshman class features Dakota Keyworth, Sidney Logsdon and Sophie Waite, with both Logsdon and Waite arriving with impressive prep résumés.
 
The combination gives Rhines several options as he builds his championship lineup. Munguia, Wood, Hoops and Gutierrez all return with NCAA West Regional experience from last season, providing the Otters with a proven group capable of leading the way when the distances move to 6K and the championship portion of the schedule arrives.
 
Experience should be one of Monterey Bay's greatest strengths this fall on the men's side, with six seniors providing a strong foundation for a roster that also features several promising underclassmen.
 
Angel Arciniega, Captain Burnett, Lorenzo Cilia, Cameron Cornforth, William Trowbridge and Jake Walton comprise the Otters' senior class and will be counted on to provide leadership both on the course and throughout the training season.
 
That experience could become particularly valuable as CSUMB progresses toward the championship portion of its schedule. With a relatively short regular season, every race provides an opportunity for the Otters to build toward their best performances in November.
 
Cornforth enters his senior campaign after earning one of the CCAA's most prestigious academic honors last season. He received the CCAA Elite 13 Award at the 2025 conference championships, an honor presented to the student-athlete with the highest grade point average competing at the championship.
 
The senior group will also play an important role in helping develop a roster that includes a significant collection of freshmen and sophomores. Behind the seniors, juniors Erik Bromley, Franky Hernandez, Hanival Osorio-Martinez and Alvaro Ruelas give Monterey Bay another experienced layer within its lineup.
 
The Otters will waste little time getting a preview of their conference championship course. CSUMB opens Saturday at the Coyote Challenge on the Cal State San Bernardino campus. The Otters will return to the same course two months later for the CCAA Championships, giving Monterey Bay an early opportunity to become familiar with the terrain it will encounter when the conference title is on the line.
 
Two weeks later, the Otters travel to Riverside for the UCR Invitational on Sept. 19 at the UCR Ag Ops Course. October begins with a trip to Santa Clarita for the TMU Invitational on Oct. 3 at Central Park before CSUMB closes its regular season at the Bronco Invitational on Oct. 17 at Baylands Park in Sunnyvale.
 
The Bronco Invitational will provide the Otters with their final competitive tune-up before turning their attention toward championship racing.
 
The postseason begins Nov. 7 at the CCAA Championships in San Bernardino, bringing CSUMB back to the CSUSB Campus Course where its season began.
 
Two weeks later, the NCAA West Regional heads to Sacramento and Arcade Creek Golf Course on Nov. 21.
 
The ultimate destination will be Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kansas, site of the NCAA Division II Championships on Dec. 5.