COMPLETE RESULTS

SALEM, Ore. --- Biola's men's and women's cross country teams enjoyed their longest trips of the year as both squads posted some of the fastest team times in school history as the women finished second and the men placed eighth at the Charles Bowles Cross Country Invitational hosted by Williamette University on Saturday.

The men placed 11th out of 28 teams in the 8k Gold Race, run at Bush's Pasture Park in Salem. The total team time for the Eagles was 2:11:16, believed to be the second fastest time in school history. The previous best was 2:11:16 back at the 2004 NAIA Region II Championships when the Eagles just missed out on a berth to the national championship.

Seven of the eight Biola men and everyone in the top five recorded a personal best time. Senior Ryan Richert led the Eagles with a time of 25:22, placing 48th out of 312 runners in the race. Fellow senior Kyle McNulty was not too far behind with a time of 25:39, good enough for 68th place. Evan Thibodeau placed 126th with a time of 26:39, the same time as Spencer Lyle, who official placed 127th. Mike Morin rounded out the scoring five with a 26:55, placing 145th in the race.

A pair of other Biola runners recorded personal best times. They were freshman Billy Vetter (27:54) and sophomore Matthew Arroues (28:50).

On the women's side,  the No. 4-ranked Eagles finished second overall out of 23 teams in the crowded field, just behind GSAC rival Azusa Pacific University. Biola's team time on the women's side also was among the best in school history as the Eagles recorded a time of 90:00 even, dropping 16 seconds from their last run at UC Riverside two weeks ago.

Junior Kelsey Gasner ripped off a stellar time of 17:53, finishing 11th overall and taking top honors for the Eagles. However, the next four finishers for Biola all finished just 18 seconds later. Junior Katie Thede was 13th with a time of 17:54, Nychele Fischetti took 15th in 17:56, Carissa Bowman placed 23rd in 18:05, and Sarah Brooks finished 25th in 18:11.

Rounding out the Biola squad was Danielle Calhoun in 34th (18:39), Erika Perez in 65th (19:14), Rachel Stump in 91st (19:38), Clarissa Kenney (20:03), Holly Kopp (20:05), Brooke Brumund (20:40), Katherine Sikkelee (20:54) and Kelsi Boucher (21:38).

Biola's next race comes a bit closer to home but will feature a number of top GSAC schools. The Eagles head down to Costa Mesa on Saturday (Oct. 10) for the Vanguard Invitational at Fairview Park. Races begin at 9:00 a.m.