MONMOUTH, Ore. --- Biola Men's Cross Country ended up sixth overall in its first appearance at the NCAA Division II West Region Championships. Gabe Plendcio ran a fantastic race to place fourth individually with a 30:01 on the 10k course. The Eagles did enough to remain in the conversation for an at-large berth to NCAA National Championships in two weeks.

Plendcio was in a deep top group throughout the entire race, but the top five to 10 runners became much more apparent as the race headed into its final 2,000 meters. He was the top PacWest Conference runner in the event and finished just six seconds behind the individual champion from CSU San Marcos, Josh Litwiller. 

Chico State won the team title with a major effort to record just 43 total points. Cal Poly Pomona () and CSU San Marcos () finished second and third to claim all of the automatic qualifier spots available in the field. It was a clean sweep for the California Collegiate Athletic Association, which took the top four spots in the event with Stanislaus State edging Western Washington by five points and Biola by about 30.

Angel Escobar also earned a top-25 finish on the day, running a 30:45 to see he and Plendcio earn all-region honors. Brady DeHaven and Ryan St. Pierre were the next two to score for BU, finishing within six seconds and six spots of one another. DeHaven was 34th with a 30:59 and St. Pierre crossed the line 40th with a 31:05.

Jared Donnel rounded out the Eagles' top-5 with a 31:43 to place 65th. That meant all five scorers for Biola were in the top-third of the field of almost 200 runners. 

Ryan Thompson (32:14) and Gio Orellana (33:03) ran hard to count Biola's tie-breaking efforts.

Next up for this team is the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships on November 23. Biola will find out in two days if it will be the whole team competing up in Sacramento or Plendcio representing BU as an individual. As a team receiving votes nationally, BU should have a solid chance.