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Top Moment MXC wins PacWest title

#1: Men's Cross Country Wins PacWest

MXC wraps up Biola's first-ever PacWest title.

July 05, 2019

LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Each day for the last week of June and this first week of July we will count down Biola Athletics' top-10 moments/achievements from the 2018-19 athletic season. Today is day ten of this countdown and will feature the top moment of the year. Don't worry - Biola's student-athletes will begin working on many more moments when the 2019-20 athletic season kicks off in just 61 days.

#1: PacWest Championship Win!
Biola went through its first PacWest Conference season coming close to, but not quite achieving a conference title. Things changed in year two, though, as Biola Men's Cross Country won the first-possible PacWest title of the 2018-19 season to earn BU its first-ever championship in the NCAA Division II era. 

Head Coach Sean Henning groomed his team for a dominating effort at Woodward Park in Fresno, resulting in an individual championship for Gabe Plendcio and a team title for the Eagles.
 
Biola's top-6 finishers all placed inside of the top-16 overall to earn All-PacWest recognition. The Eagles won the event with a team point total of 46 points and an average 8k of 25:20. Plendcio ran 37 seconds under that average (24:43) to win the event with a 16-second buffer before second place. Plendcio finished 14th in the 2017 championship, while Biola placed third overall meaning significant improvement for both in 2018.
 
The men's 8k was up first on the day. Biola and Academy of Art were the two favorites coming into the race and ended up being the two teams battling for the title throughout, with critical performances up and down Biola's top-7 securing the title. 

"I was really happy. I thought the guys did a good job executing," said Henning. "They didn't go out and overdo it. They were not winning at a mile, but that was OK. They did a great job of letting the race play out and just letting their fitness take over."
 
The Eagles' depth is what won the championship for them. Second-place Academy of Art had three runners in the top-6, but then a drop-off until the mid-20s. Biola had its second through fifth runners all finish within 15 seconds of one another between spots seven and 14. 

"I am very excited for how everybody did," said Henning. "I thought we showed incredible depth and the guys did a great job trying to work together. Gabe did a great job running a smart race. He was patient until he felt he was ready to go and he made his move."

Plendcio's individual win was Biola's third individual conference championship win in men's cross country. Assistant Coach Kevin Horchler won the Golden State Athletic Conference twice.
 
The women's side also put up a strong effort at PacWest, placing third. Both teams are expecting to compete for a championship in 2019.
 
Honorable Mention: Clutch Win At Concordia
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Overtime was a common theme during both women's basketball meetings between Biola and Concordia Irvine in 2018-19. Biola got the best of the hosting Irvine Eagles during their first overtime affair, thanks in large part to an amazing night from Jazz Benn.

Jazz Benn had the highest scoring night of her career and showed some mamba mentality late in the game with 25 points. Tatum Brimley also came up big with 13 points and two big free throws in overtime to push Biola to 69 points in the 69-68 victory. 
 
"Going into the game we knew we were going to be in for a tough, hard-fought game from start to finish. And that's exactly what we got," said Head Coach Alan Nakamura. "Concordia is a physical, well-coached team and we knew no lead was safe."

For the final three minutes of regulation and throughout overtime, Biola's offense ran exclusively through Brimley and Benn. A Brimley free-throw tied the score at 57-57 with under two minutes remaining. But it took three additional points from Benn, including a beautiful turnaround layup on an isolation play with 27 seconds left, to force Concordia into desperation mode. 
 
CUI's Michaela VanderKlugt had a chance to put her team up one with 12 seconds left. But she missed the first of her free throws and the game would move into overtime.

Benn immediately jumped ahead in overtime to give Biola the lead. The sophomore scored her team's first six points of the period and drained a jumper from two feet beyond the three-point arc to take a 66-63 lead. The trey pushed Benn's point total to 25, five points more than her previous career-high and 11 more than she had scored in a game this season. 
 
After missing a few free throws earlier in the game, Brimley delivered when it mattered by going 2-for-2 at the charity stripe with 41 seconds left. Concordia would score two points in response to make the score 69-68 and then get the ball back with 12 seconds remaining. But CUI missed two short-range layups in the closing seconds and dropped the conference game to Biola.
 
Top-10 Moments:
10. Men's Basketball Comes Back At Hawaii Hilo
9. Historic Tennis Victories
8. Swim Team Record-Breaking Efforts
7. Mackenna Mason Sweeps NCCAA Distance Titles
6. Softball Sweeps Way To Finals
5. Thompson's Hat Trick on Senior Day
4. NCCAA Championships For Days
3. PacWest Best
2. APU About Face
1. PacWest Championship Win!

Honorable Mentions:
Connor Kostecka's Bat Produces Two Walk-Off Hits
Paige Austin Carves Up APU
Ryan Thompson Wins PacWest 10k By An Eyelash
Women's Golf Makes A Run At PacWest Title
Volleyball Gets Revenge At Home
Tennis Teams Qualify For PacWest Championships
Men's Cross Country Puts On A Show At Santa Clara
Katelyn Penner Finds Game-Winner
Captain Kousei Finds The Net
Clutch Win At Concordia
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