ROCKLIN, Calif. --- For one last time the Golden State Athletic Conference women's cross country title is back where it belongs, in La Mirada. Lyndee Dawson led the Eagles' effort at Spring View Park on Saturday morning to lift Biola to its fifth GSAC Title and second in a row.
 
"The women ran very well today," said Head Coach Sean Henning. "The Master's and Westmont definitely brought their A-game today. They both ran very strong races. Our women ran with a lot of heart and did a pretty good job of working together."
 
The men's team also put forth a good effort and finished in a points tie with Westmont for second place in the team scoring. The Warriors' had higher finishes in the fifth and sixth spots and won the tiebreaker pushing the Eagles to a third-place overall finish.
 
"The men had a tough day today, but they are in good spirits and know that they can run better at nationals in two weeks," said Henning. "Sometimes you just don't have it on the day, and unfortunately today was one of those days. On the bright side, I thought our top-3 did a good job of working together and fighting hard down the stretch"
 
Dawson was the big highlight on this sunny Saturday morning up in Rocklin as she completed the final conference championship cross country meet of her career as the individual champion. She becomes the Eagles' seventh all-time individual champion. Biola has had a men's champion and/or women's champion in each GSAC meet since 2013.
 
Biola took three of the top-4 spots on the women's side with Dawson winning (17:22), Emily Ransom placing third (17:27) and Hannah Hunsaker speeding across the finish line in fourth (17:36).
 
The Eagles' women's team came away with six All-GSAC honors as three others finished inside of the top-14 to qualify them for the honors. Stephanie Croy placed eighth (17:56), Michelle Clark finished 10^th (18:11) and freshman Mandy Reyes came in at no. 13 (18:16).
 
"Lyndee showed a ton of grit in the last 800 meters and definitely fought hard for the win. Stephanie ran her best race of the year, and Michelle fought hard to keep that gap from growing too big," said Henning. "We had some great performances past that, and our depth really showed in the results. Now we will put our heads down and continue to prepare for nationals in two weeks."
 
On the men's side it was a freshman leading the way as Gabe Plendcio posted the team's best finish as he crossed the line fourth (24:56). He finished just 11 seconds behind the individual champion (Josh Sherfey from TMU) and was the first non-The Master's University student-athlete in the results.
 
Plendcio was followed by all-conference efforts from Ryan Thompson (8^th – 25:03) and Miles Brubacher (9^th – 25:10), emulating the Eagles' top-3 finishers all season long.
 
"I thought our top-3 did a good job of working together and fighting hard down the stretch," said Henning. "Gabe continues to improve as he learns the race distance and closed really well today. Ryan showed a lot of resolve the last mile of the race and I was proud of him and Miles for fighting hard until the end."
 
Rounding out the Eagles' countable finishes was: Christian Perez (20^th – 25:58), Robbie Gleeson (23^rd – 26:08), Timmy Wilson (24^th – 26:13) and Jonathan O'Neil (27^th – 26:24).
 
The gap from 1-7 for Biola's men's team was 1:28, which will need to improve as the Eagles hope to compete at NAIA nationals in two weeks.
 
"I know they will bounce back and do great things in a couple weeks. Sometimes you have to go through adversity to become a champion, and that's kind of how I felt about the men's race today. We are very proud of how hard they have worked to get to where they are as a team," said Henning.
 
Biola will send both of its teams to the NAIA Cross Country Championships in Elsah, Ill. On Nov. 19.