PORTLAND, Ore. – Decorated California cross country and track & field alumnus Garrett MacQuiddy achieved yet another milestone Saturday on one of the nation's biggest stages, earning a bronze medal at the USA Track & Field (USATF) Cross Country Championships with a time of 5:33.6. By merit of his third-place finish, MacQuiddy will be an alternate for Team USA at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in the mixed 4x2k relay, which will be held in Tallahassee, Florida, on Jan. 10.
 
North Carolina graduate Ethan Strand and Virginia alumnus Wes Porter, both of whom earned multiple All-America honors (as well as two NCAA records and an NCAA title for Strand), finished first and second in the race with times of 5:25.8 and 5:26.5, respectively, to earn the two main qualifying berths. On the women's side, Gracie Morris (TCU '24) finished first in 6:19.4 and Sage Hurta-Klecker (Colorado '21) placed second in 6:22.9, while Annika Reiss (Northern Arizona '24) took third in 6:23.1.
 
"Honestly, I felt a little rough coming into this week," MacQuiddy said. "My hamstrings were the tightest they've ever been on Monday and Tuesday, and I thought I might have a bit of a sickness coming on – but everything cleared up nicely and I felt great. It was muddy yesterday for the course preview and just as muddy today, so I wore really long spikes to try and get at least a little bit of traction.
 
"On Thanksgiving I took a Turkey Trot a little too seriously and ran a road 5k PR, so I knew that I had the fitness that I've had before, and it was going to be a matter of putting it all together today," he said. "I'm very happy with the result and can't have imagined it going much better. I'm hopeful that I have the opportunity to race for Team USA in Tallahassee, but I know Wes and Ethan well and I wish them all the best in the leadup to the World Championships on home soil."
 
After finishing his collegiate career with his second U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Honorable Mention nod in 2025 (having also done so in 2023), MacQuiddy has embarked on a successful professional running career, placing seventh in the 1500m at the Portland Track Festival (3:37.94) and the Sunset Tour in Los Angeles (3:42.14) while also finishing seventh in the mile at the Bob Vigars Classic in London (4:02.55). As a Golden Bear, MacQuiddy was just the fourth man in program history to run a sub-four-minute indoor mile, accomplishing the feat five times with a school-record best of 3:57.65, and also cracked four other program top 10 lists (including a school record in the 1500m). MacQuiddy turned heads at the ACC Outdoor Championships in May, taking second in the 1500m despite entering the race with just the conference's eighth-best time in the field that season.
 
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