ELSAH, Ill. --- Qualifying teams for the NAIA Cross Country Championships is a challenge, getting through the race in 30-degree temperatures with howling winds is a whole other story.
 
However, Biola Cross Country proved to be tougher than your ordinary Southern California cross country team as the women claimed their second third-place national finish in as many years.
 
The Eagles were paced by Emily Ransom, who had another phenomenal day and earned herself All-American honors with a seventh-place finish. The sophomore completed the 5k in 17:28 to finish just a few seconds shy of a top-5 finish, but about 20 seconds higher than the last All-American time.
 
Lyndee Dawson earned her 10^th-career  All-American honors by crossing the finish line second for BU with a 17:43. She was 22^nd overall and helped to keep the team score low with just 19 points.

"The ladies were winning at the 1-mile checkpoint, and unfortunately couldn't hold it. They fought valiantly, and I was really proud of their efforts today. They left it all out there and that's really all that you can do. Emily had a fantastic race and ran very smart and kept moving up as girls dropped off," said Head Coach Sean Henning.
 
Following that pair was Hannah Hunsaker (40^th – 18:06), Stephanie Croy (58^th – 18:19) and Kaitlin Quaid (74^th – 18:33) to round out Henning's top-5 finishers.
 
The women's race was a tough field as 334 runners traversed the hilly terrain at Principia College's home cross country course in Elsah. The adverse conditions did not slow down the individual race champion, Aminat Olowora of Oklahoma City, who set a new meet record by winning the race in 16:24.
 
British Columbia claimed its fourth team crown of the last five years, Northwest Christian finished one spot above the Eagles, and Biola took the final spot on the podium. BU was a handful of points behind the Beacons for second place and 14 points ahead of fourth-place finisher, Aquinas.

"Stephanie and Michelle both did what I asked and put themselves in a great spot early on in the race. Kaitlin  also got off to a good start," said Henning. "She had a tough middle mile but really battled back the last mile to move up nearly 20 spots! Mandy did a good job as a freshman on the big stage for the first time. She had a great season and this was a great experience for her. All in all, we are very proud of the girls for going after a national title and finishing in the top 3 for the second year in a row!"
 
The men's team also sent a full slate of runners and was all set to avenge a disappointing GSAC Championship meet performance from a few weeks ago. The boys came together to finish 26^th in the nation, which was right about where they were at one year ago as well.
 
Biola was paced by All-American Kevin Horchler in 2015, but was much more of a team effort this year. The Eagles' top runner on Saturday was Miles Brubacher. The first-year transfer concluded his strong season with an 88^th-place finish and a 25:55. He was sandwiched in between a huge pack of men that finished between 25:50 and 26:00, which really made the exact placing somewhat arbitrary.
 
"The guys felt tired throughout the race, and that is something I have to take note of as a coach and try to do better in the way we prepare them. They did exactly what I asked at the start of the race and got out aggressively. We were in really good position at the mile marker," said Henning.

There were 332 men in the race and three of the Eagles' top-5 managed to finish inside of the top half of the field. The team did not quite reach its way to a top-10 team finish, but it did have some good runs to look back on from its top group.
 
Biola's top-3 finishers was rounded out by Gabe Plendcio (119^th – 26:08) and Christian Perez (26:27)

"I was really proud of guys because I know it wasn't for lack of trying. They left it all out there for their team, which is always our goal. They had a fantastic season and have made great strides for this program," said Henning. "Biola men's cross country is at a whole new level despite the finish at nationals. They have really laid the groundwork for future teams and I know the future is bright for this program."
 
Now, coach Henning and the bunch turns its attention to track & field season, which is already back in practice for the winter and spring.