Garrett MacQuiddy, a former California Golden Bears cross country and track & field athlete, earned third place at the USA Track & Field (USATF) Cross Country Championships held in Portland, Oregon. His performance secured him a bronze medal with a time of 5:33.6 and made him an alternate for Team USA in the mixed 4x2k relay at the upcoming World Athletics Cross Country Championships scheduled for January 10 in Tallahassee, Florida.
Ethan Strand, a graduate of North Carolina who holds two NCAA records and an NCAA title, finished first with a time of 5:25.8. Wes Porter from Virginia placed second with a time of 5:26.5; both secured main qualifying spots for Team USA. On the women’s side, Gracie Morris (TCU ’24) won her race in 6:19.4 while Sage Hurta-Klecker (Colorado ’21) was second at 6:22.9 and Annika Reiss (Northern Arizona ’24) finished third at 6:23.1.
MacQuiddy described his preparation leading up to the event by saying, “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 by earning his second U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Honorable Mention recognition in 2025—having also received it in 2023—MacQuiddy has continued running professionally. He placed seventh in both the 1500m at the Portland Track Festival (3:37.94) and Sunset Tour in Los Angeles (3:42.14), as well as seventh in the mile at London’s Bob Vigars Classic (4:02.55). As part of California’s program history, MacQuiddy became only its fourth man to run an indoor mile under four minutes—a feat he accomplished five times—and set school records including one for fastest indoor mile at 3:57.65.
During his college career he also achieved top-10 performances across several events for California Golden Bears cross country.
For further updates on Cal cross country activities or results from athletes like MacQuiddy, follow their official accounts on X (@CalTFXC), Instagram (@caltfxc), or Facebook (@Cal Cross Country/Track and Field).
