ORANGE, Calif. --- Biola's women's cross country team placed all five scorers in the top 15 en route to its second GSAC Title in the last three years while the men placed fifth in an incredibly close race on Saturday at the GSAC Championship Meet at Irvine Regional Park.
The Biola women, ranked No. 5 in the latest NAIA National Coaches' Poll, placed first overall with 45 points, edging Concordia University, which had 58. Westmont placed third overall with 71 points, one more than The Master's College, which finished fourth.
The win was the third-straight victory for the Biola women, taking top honors at the Vanguard Invitational on October 13 and placing first at the Biola NAIA West Coast Jamboree on October 20.
Freshman Kellian Hunt was Biola's top finisher, crossing the finish line in 18:16.3, dropping three seconds off her time at the NAIA West Coast Jamboree on October 20 on the same course. Fellow freshman Neysa Mains placed fifth in 18:27.5 followed by yet another freshman, Ilima Kung in 10th place in 18:47.7.
Senior Rachel Stump finished 13th overall in 18:52.8 followed by junior Chelsea Janzen in 14th in 19:01.8. Junior Kasey Schalich (17th - 19:11.7) and freshman Brooke Arvidson (26th -19:40.3) rounded out the Biola contingent.
On the men's side, Biola placed fifth overall in a race in which the top five teams were separated by just 20 points. The Master's was able to win the team title with 65 points followed by Vanguard with 70, Westmont with 80, Arizona Christian with 82 and Biola with 85.
Junior Danny Ledesma continued to pace Biola, finishing fifth overall with a time of 25:49.2. Senior Spencer Lyle took home 10th place in 26:31.3 with sophomore Andrew Daedler taking home 13th place in 26:40.8.
Rounding out the Eagles' racers were freshman Shane Brinson (27th - 27:42.7), junior Andy Edmondson (31st - 28:04.4), senior Joseph Harabedian (35th 28:22.3) and junior Scott Weir (41st - 29:39.2).
Eight athletes earned All-GSAC for their performances on Saturday: Daedler, Lyle and Ledesma on the men's side and Janzen, Stump, Kung, Mains and Hunt on the women's side.
"The competition was outstanding and both men and women's teams really rose to the occasion," said Head Coach Jonathan Zimmerman. "I was extremely pleased with how the women ran as it is a very competitive conference and you cannot take any thing for granted. We've been working towards this all season and it was rewarding to come out on top this time."
The Biola women earn an automatic berth to the NAIA National Championships on Saturday, November 17 at the Fort Vancouver Historical Site in Vancouver, Washington.
Meet Photos - Liza Rosales | Randy Perez
