BELMONT, Calif. --- Biola Cross Country becomes the first Biola University program to compete in a PacWest Conference championship event on Saturday morning at Crystal Springs Cross Country Course in Northern California.
Head Coach Sean Henning's squads were picked to finish fourth in the conference in the preseason coaches' polls. Those polls turn to reality Saturday morning in the form of a women's 6k championship race and men's 8k championship race.
Henning mentioned early in the season that his goal was for both teams to finish inside of the top-3 in the conference meet. This meet has been set apart as the most important week of the entire season and training all year long has the teams geared up and ready to go.
"Both of our teams are trending upward right now and I'm happy with where we are at," said Henning. "We have faced some adversity in the form of injuries and illnesses over the past month, but we have a resilient team. They have been able to come together, support one another, and continue to work hard to achieve their goals."
California Baptist University was picked to finish first in both preseason polls. The men's team is looking for their seventh title in a row and the women's side is in the hunt for a fourth title in a row.
The men's field features two ranked teams in the form of CBU (#7) and Academy of Art (#24). The Lancers are the only ranked program on the women's side, but they are ranked No. 1 in the nation. Fresno Pacific and Point Loma are the other programs that will likely be up near the front competing with your Eagles for top-3 positions.
On the women's side look for a surging Stephanie Croy, super freshman Mackenna Mason and dependable Hannah Hunsaker to be leading the way in the Eagles' individual effort. The men will be led by a group of Gabe Plendcio, Gio Orellana and Ryan Thompson.
"The group we will take to conference will compete HARD, not for their own personal glory but for their teammates and for God's glory," said Henning. "Both sides will be well-prepared come Saturday and I expect a fantastic day for us."
The festivities begin with the women's race at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. The men's race follows at 9:00 a.m. with an awards ceremony right after. Follow the races live with live timing at http://rtspt.com/events/ncaa/pacwest17/.
Photos of the event will be posted to our Facebook page shortly after the weekend.
