University of California, Merced

Sofia Rios trades in her running shoes for coaching shoes this season as she becomes the second former University of California, Merced runner to jump to the college coaching ranks at their alma mater.

Rios joins the staff as the most decorated runner in UC Merced cross country history. In her four-year career, Rios qualifed for the NAIA National Championship four times, was named to the Cal Pac Conference First Team all four years, earned Cal Pac Runner of the Year her junior year, and became the first champion in UC Merced history in 2014 when she won the Cal Pac Conference individual championship. You can read that story here.