MEN'S RESULTS
WOMEN'S RESULTS

ORANGE, Calif. --- The 2009 Biola University Cross Country Invitational turned out to be a bit of an NAIA National Preview meet as the top four women's teams in the country battled at Irvine Regional Park on Saturday morning.

Biola, which entered as the No. 3 ranked team in the NAIA, placed fourth overall in the race with 72 points, narrowly edged out by Simon Fraser (B.C.), which had 60 points. Top-ranked Azusa Pacific held its own with a total of 43 points, placing all five scorers in the top 16. Cal State San Marcos finished in second place with 55 points.

Individually, APU's Jacky Kipwambok and Lauren Jimison were first and second, respectively. Kimwambok ran a 17:14 and beat Jimison by nine seconds for the title.

On the men's side, Cal State San Marcos took top honors with 72 points, narrowly edging out Simon Fraser, which finished with 77. California Baptist was third with 100 points and Westmont finished fourth with 109. Biola's men's team took eighth place overall with 176 team points.

Azusa Pacific's Abednego Magut took top honors in the men's race with a time of 24.43 in the 8K race.

Biola's women's team continued its impressive season as each of its top seven runners dropped time off their course times from last season. The Eagles also place all five of their scoring runners in the top 20 with just 24 seconds separating them. Biola's total team time of 92:01 was nearly two minutes better than in the 2008 race.

Nychele Fischetti was Biola's top finisher, taking 10th overall with a time of 18:14. Katie Thede and Sarah Brooks took 12th and 13th, respectively. Thede crossed in 18:17 while Brooks finished just behind in 18:18. Kelsey Gasner and Carissa Bowman rounded out the scoring five with an 18th and 19th place finish, respectively. Gasney posted a time of 18:35 and Bowman finished in 18:37.

For the Biola men, Ryan Richert had yet another strong run, placing 12th overall with a time of 25:48. Spencer Lyle took 31st overall in 26:35 while Kyle McNulty finished in 40th place with a time of 26:59. Rounding out Biola's scoring five were Carter Williams (42nd - 27:01) and Evan Thibodeau (57th - 27:37).

Biola returns to action on Saturday, November 7, at the GSAC Championships, hosted by Fresno Pacific University at Woodward Park in Fresno.