COMPLETE MEET RESULTS
SAN DIEGO --- The Biola men's cross country team won the 8k open race while the women finished 8th out of 17 teams in the women's invitational race at the 64th Annual Aztec Invitational hosted by San Diego State University at Balboa Park.
Both teams improved their team times and raced very well in their second meet of the season. The men scored a low 26 point total to cruise to a win in the open race as David Ricksecker (27:23), Kyle McNulty (27:58), and Robbie Cracknell (28:06) went 1-2-3 in the team scoring.
“These three men all had good races today," said Head Coach Jonathan Zimmerman. "They really opened the door to a 1:03 second improved team time over last week and a first place team finish.”
The Eagles closed the door well on the competition as they put six athletes in the top 12 spots by race end with Mike Morin (29:15), Jared Bird (29:21), and Evan Thibodeau (29:12) finishing 9th, 11th, and 12th respectively. Biola's Rob Clarkson (30:10), Kyle Ross (30:34), and Matt Arroues (31:07) rounded out the field for the men's squad.
“This is a superb group of guys with a great work ethic and an outstanding competitive spirit," said Zimmerman. "They will continue to have an outstanding season as a team.”
On the women's side, the Eagles finished 8th out of 17 teams in the main women's race, which was won by GSAC rival Azusa Pacific. Northern Arizona and UC Santa Barbara rounded out the top three in the team scoring.
Biola's top five raced well, finishing within 26 seconds of each other through the very challenging 5k course. Katie Thede led the women's squad with a time of 18:43, good enough for 26th overall. Carissa Bowman finished close behind in 38th (18:51), followed by Kristin Schmidt (44th-18:55), Nychele Fischetti (53rd-19:00), and Kelsey Gasner (64th-19:09). The quintet combined for a team time of 94:38.
Rounding out the Biola contingent were Kim Arroues (20:19), Danielle Calhoun (20:23), Sarah Brooks (20:29), Erika Perez (20:45), and Katie Sikkelee (21:12).
“Across the board the men and women's team are very competitive," said Zimmerman. "Their goals are very high and we've got a couple of weeks now till they put on their 'go fast' shoes again. So this a great time for both teams to get back to the basics of training, staying healthy and embracing the journey in the process. This is going to be a great fall campaign for all of them.”
The Eagles will race again on Saturday, Sept. 27 at the UC Riverside Invitational in Riverside.
