SAN DIEGO, Calif. --- Biola Cross Country had its final tune up for the postseason on Saturday morning as it took on the campus of UC San Diego in the UCSD Triton Invitational.
 
The women's team was up first and completed the 6k race quick enough to place third overall in the 11-team pool. The Eagles have never finished lower than the top-3 in this meet.
 
Stephanie Croy led Biola for the second week in a row. She ran with MacKenna Mason and edged the freshman by two-tenths of a second as both ladies earned top-10 finishes. Croy came across the line in sixth with a 22:32.2 and Mason was seventh at 22.32.4.
 
Emily Ransom continues to work her way back to the top. The Eagles' 2016 number one runner finished 23^rd today and was the third Biolan to cross the line at 23:18. Mandy Reyes was not too far behind her at 23:23 (25^th place). There were 116 individuals in the 6k field.

"I thought our top-4 girls did a great job of executing well and working together. Our five, six, and seven also took a step forward and executed well for us," said Head Coach Sean Henning. "Once we get Hannah Hunsaker back in the mix and we are completely rested and ready to go, I think we will race even better."
 
Overall the race was about a minute slower than the last 6k this team competed in at UC Riverside a few weeks ago.

"Stephanie Chaires unleashed a big kick in the finishing stretch to give us the advantage over Point Loma and Humboldt State," said Henning. "I was very proud of her for showing such great effort over the final home stretch."
 
The men also earned a top-3 finish in their field of nine teams. The race on the men's side also ran at a significantly slower pace than most of the others this season. Gio Orellana finished as the top Eagle, placing eighth with a 27:00. His top 8k this season is more than a minute faster than that.
 
The Eagles' top-3 was a freshman trifecta as Orellana was followed closely by Ryan St. Pierre (27:29 – 19th) and Tanner Dutchover (27:31 – 21st). Biola was one of three teams with four runners inside of the top third of the field of almost 90 runners. The Eagles' fourth finisher was Christian Perez, who came in at 28:03 and was 28^th overall.

"These guys showed resiliency though and stepped up to the challenge today," said Henning. "We were able to beat a solid Humboldt State team and will continue to grow and improve as a team from here. Gio has also been battling an injury this week and showed great poise throughout the race, running patient in the beginning and finishing really well for a top ten finish. Ryan St. Pierre had a strong finish and worked well with Tanner throughout the race. We will regroup, refocus, maintain an unshatterable belief in ourself, and be okay in the coming weeks."
 
Biola's next time out will be the race all season has been gearing up for, the PacWest Conference Championship meet. The race will be held at Crystal Springs Cross Country Course in Belmont, California on Oct. 21. Head Coach Sean Henning has stated he expects a top-3 finish from both of his teams.