RIVERSIDE, Calif. --- Conditions were so difficult at Saturday's 8K UC Riverside Cross Country Invitational that they made one Biola runner fall in exhaustion due to heat, and made it nearly impossible for him to finish the race.
 
However, in the true spirit of Biola athletics, he found it within himself to get back up and make his way to the finish line, conquering the final half-mile.
 
Although he was able to finish, his falter was indicative of the way the day went for the BU men's cross country squad.
 
"It was not our best day," said Head Coach Jonathan Zimmerman. "It was a really hard day for us, but we are ready to just put this one behind us and find a way to move on."
 
The Eagles ran five of their men at the tough meet hosted by UC Riverside and comprised of mostly National Collegiate Athletic Association teams.
 
Kevin Horchler was BU's top finisher, placing 50^th and finishing with a time of 25 minutes, 47.1 seconds, a time that put him just about a half-minute back from a top 20 finish.
 
Andrew Daedler (26:00.3), Brandon Berz (26:24.5), Shane Brinson (27:18.1) and Danny Ledesma (28:25.7) also registered counting scores for the Eagles, as they finished 18^th in the 23 team field.
 
Harry Mulenga of Central Arizona paced all runners with a 23:45.1, and UC Santa Barbara won the event with their counting scores averaging runs of 24:45.88.
 
The men's squad gets some time off to escape the heat as they do not compete again until the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Pre-National meet Oct. 12.
 
The women's squad, ranked No. 12 in the NAIA, hits the ground running next Saturday at the annual San Diego State Aztec Invitational, an event they won two years ago and finished third in last year.