MEN'S RESULTS: INDIVIDUAL | TEAM
WOMEN'S RESULTS: INDIVIDUAL | TEAM
FRESNO, Calif. --- The Biola University women's cross country team finished third overall, just missing second by one point, while the men's team ran strong but finished eighth at the NAIA Region II Championships at Woodward Park in Fresno on Saturday.
The Eagle women, who entered ranked No. 6 in the latest NAIA National Ratings, are likely to earn an at-large berth to the NAIA National Championship meet with their strong finish on the 5k course. Biola, which had six of their seven runners race to personal bests, finished with 75 points overall, just one point behind Cal State San Marcos–ranked No. 11 nationally. Azusa Pacific took the top spot with 57 points.
The men finished the meet with 141 points. Just 27 points separated the fourth through eighth place teams with Cal State San Marcos taking first place with 65 points. Azusa Pacific edged Concordia 91-93 for second place with Vanguard finishing fourth in 114 points.
Biola placed two runners in the top seven in the women's race with sophomore Kristin Schmidt taking third in 17:58 and freshman Katie Thede finishing seventh in 18:16.
Overall, the Eagles' five scoring runners finished in the top 25. Senior Anna Thibodo took 18th overall with a time of 18:48 followed by freshmen Sarah Brooks and Erika Perez placed 23rd and 24th respectively with Brooks running a 19:00 and Perez crossing in 19:06.
Senior Amanda Stephens took 27th place in 19:12 and freshman Connie Andersen rounded out the Biola contingent in 37th in 19:39.
"I am very excited to see where we are at this point in the season with the national championships two weeks away," said Head Coach Jonathan Zimmerman. "The team is really racing well and consistently pushing themselves to the top edge in the team scoring.
"APU ran a great race today and they certainly deserve a lot of credit, as does Cal State San Marcos," Zimmerman added. "Cal State San Marcos was only one point ahead of us today and earlier at the Vanguard Invite we trumped them by just three pts. So, we are two very evenly matched teams."
Biola's men's team was paced by senior Brian Ball who finished second overall with a time of 24:48. He edged a pair of runners from Cal State San Marcos--including former high school teammate Juan Mejia. It was the third time Ball earned All-Region honors in his career and should earn him a trip to the National Championship race as well.
"Brian did an outstanding job today as he showed great discipline and poise racing in a strong pack of four through out most of the race," said Zimmerman.
Sophomore Ryan Richert crossed the line in 26:03, good enough for 21st, followed by freshman David Kostelyk who finished 30th with a time of 26:20. Junior Jared Bird was 43rd overall in 27:10 and was followed closely by freshman Kyle McNulty, who finished 45th in 27:16.
Rounding out Biola's seven were freshmen Carter Williams, who placed 57th in 28:55 and Kyle Ross, who finished 58th in 28:57.
The Eagles had their top five all run personal bests and combine for the second fast team time in Biola school history with a time of 2:11:37.
The NAIA makes its official announcement on the teams and individuals to qualify for the NAIA National Championships on Monday, Nov. 5. Biola's women's team is likely to earn an at-large berth while Brian Ball will be invited back as an individual with a chance to earn his second-straight NAIA All-American award.
The 52nd Annual Men's & 28th Annual Women's Cross Country National Championships take place on Saturday, November 17, at the Dr. Wayne E. Dannehl Cross Country Course in Kenosha, WI.
