DAVIS, Calif. - Racing on the familiar twists and turns of the Wildhorse Golf Club course in Davis, the UC Davis women dominated a stacked Big West Conference Championship field to run away with the 2021 conference championship on Friday morning. 

Sophomore Sierra Atkins led the Aggies with a second place finish in 20:21.3, her second top-two finish on the six-kilometer course after finishing second at the Stump Invite on the same Wildhorse course in September. 

Freshman Brianna Weidler followed closely behind in third in 20:38.6 with freshman Hope Bergmark in fifth (20:43.1) and sophomore Chloe Arriaga in sixth (20:45.5), giving the Aggies four scoring spots in the top six. Junior Eva Goodisson rounded out UC Davis' top five in 10th place as the Aggies ran away with the team title with just 26 points.  

From the gun there was little doubt of the team result on a foggy morning where visibility was limited. Through two kilometers, the Aggies had four runners in the top six spots. Through four kilometers, UC Davis had six in the top 10 while Cal State Fullerton sat with their top three in 1st, 11th and 12th. All that was left was for Atkins to battle for the individual crown as she sat within three seconds of individual winner Trinity Ruelas of CSU Fullerton at two and four kilometers before Ruelas pulled away down the stretch. 

On the men's side, freshman Austin Vasquez moved up steadily throughout to finish 10th in 24:16.9 and lead the men to a fourth place team finish, improving one spot from their fifth place finish in 2019. Vasquez was in 15th through two kilometers and 12th through four kilometers of the eight kilometer course. Senior Ryman Crone was 15th in 24:36.8, sophomore Simon Fuller 22nd in 24:44.4, sophomore Ivan Mendez 26th in 25:52.9, and freshman Isaiah Galindo 29th in 24:57.4 to complete the Aggies' scoring five. 

Of the Aggies' ten scoring runners across the men's and women's teams Friday, just two are upperclassmen with Crone the lone senior. 

The women's title provides a sense of catharsis for the Aggies in their fourth year under head coach Emma Petersen. UC Davis finished third at the conference championship in Petersen's first year at the helm in 2018 and a heartbreaking second in 2019, a race in which the Aggies led at every split but lost the team title to Cal State Fullerton by six points. The Aggies were robbed of a chance at revenge in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

There was little doubt on Friday as second place CSU Fullerton had yet to have a second runner finish before the Aggies had four across the finish line. 

Next for UC Davis will be the the NCAA West Regionals held nearby in Sacramento on Nov. 12.