FRESNO, Calif. --- Senior Kelsey Gasner finished second and all five of the scorer's for the Biola Women's Cross Country team earned All-GSAC honors as the Eagles edged arch-rival Azusa Pacific University by one point to claim the conference title at the GSAC Championships in Woodward Park on Saturday.

Biola scored 43 points to take the crown on the women's side while Azusa Pacific recorded 44 points for second place. Point Loma Nazarene was a distant third with 90. 

"Winning this GSAC Championship was a four-year process and a challenging one at that," said Head Coach Jonathan Zimmerman, who was named the GSAC Women's Coach of the Year. "Not only was this an exciting experience, it was intensely satisfying and rewarding. From the beginning of the season we've talked about just getting a little bit better then last year and we continue to prepare for the National Championships which are just two weeks away."  

Gasner, a senior, continued her impressive season with a second-place finish, placing in the top five in each of the five races she has run this year. Gasner crossed the finish line in 17:34, just three seconds behind the individual champion, Poppy Lawman from APU. 

Junior Nychele Fischetti finished in seventh place overall with a time of 18:11, followed closely by freshman Alexandra Sciarra, who placed eighth in 18:13. Senior Sarah Brooks and junior Carissa Bowman rounded out the scoring five for Biola. Brooks finished in 13th place in 18:26 with Bowman just behind in 14th with a time of 18:27. 

The top 14 finishers in the meet earn All-Conference honors.

Even Biola's two other members of the top seven finished in the Top 20 as freshman Chelsea Janzen placed 17th overall in 18:33 and senior Katie Thede crossed in 18:34 for 18th place.

"We showed incredible team depth today with our 2-8 runners finishing within 24 seconds of each other," said Zimmerman. "To win a championship in the GSAC is incredibly challenging. There were so many top level programs here today, it really brings out the best in us."

The GSAC title is the first in the program's history and the first for any Biola sport since Baseball took the conference crown in 2005. 

The Eagles earn the conference's automatic berth to the NAIA National Championships on Saturday, Nov. 20 at Fort Vancouver Historical Site in Vancouver, Wash.

On the men's side, Biola finished in fifth place overall with 118 points, a vast improvement from the ninth-place finish at the 2009 conference championships. The Master's College won the team title with 58 points followed by Azusa Pacific in second with 67.

Senior Ryan Richert punched his ticket to the NAIA National Championships with a seventh-place finish and earned All-GSAC honors as well. Richert finished with an impressive time of 25:14. 

Biola's 2-5 runners were separated by just 31 seconds, led by freshman Danny Ledesma, who finished 19th overall with a time of 26:11. Sophomore Spencer Lyle was 28th overall, crossing the line in 26:30, followed by junior Brian Aukshunas who placed 31st in 26:38 and senior Carter Williams, who was 33rd in 26:42.

"This was the third-straight super race in a row for the men, who continue to get better each week," said Zimmerman. "Our men's and women's team are extremely united and on the same page with work ethic, expectations, and you can see that in their performances. Exciting things are possible when you get that team synergy working."