SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. --- The No. 6 Biola Women's Cross Country squad took a small group of runners out to blazing hot San Bernardino to compete in the 2015 CSU San Bernardino Coyote Challenge on Saturday morning.
 
After a few minutes of adjustments the group came together and put forth a solid effort on a challenging 6,000m course and claimed a fourth-place finish in the field of seven teams.
 
Head Coach Sean Henning held out 10 of the runners he had run in the first two events of the year in order to put them through a workout and prepare for more upcoming races.
 
The contingent that did compete represented Biola very well by finishing just four points out of the top-3. The Eagles' top-5 on the day were four freshmen and a sophomore.
 
"It's a bit strange going to a race without the girls who are normally leading you and who you are comfortable warming up and running with," said Henning. "I think that threw us off initially today, but once they got settled in I think they found a groove and began to rely on each other and work together well."
 
It was the first 6k race of the season for Biola and the relatively inexperience group of runners did well with the different approach to the course.
 
Kaili Waller and Hannah Hunsaker were Biola's top-2 finishers, coming in at 24:04 and 24:13 overall. Waller was the second-highest freshman to finish in the field of 86 racers. She and Hunsaker finished 18^th and 19^th, respectively.
 
The rest of Biola's top-7 came in very close succession behind those two as all of the Eagles' top-7 finished within one minute ant six seconds of one another.
 
Hannah Feehan (24:18), Kaitlin Quaid (24:19), Melissa Ledesma (24:27), Mikaela Martin (24:33) and Kelly Thomas (25:10) all finished among the top-40 in the field.
 
"I was very happy with the experience these ladies got as they will play a big role in the future success of our program," said Henning. "There were great attitudes all around, and they did a great job of representing Biola, and more importantly, Jesus Christ, this morning."
 
Biola Cross Country has next weekend off before it gets back in action with the 2015 UC San Diego Triton Invitational in La Jolla, California.