MONMOUTH, Ore. --- It was a banner day for the Biola Cross Country programs as both teams continue to raise their profile in the NCAA Division II West Region. The men's team won and the women's finished second at Western Oregon's Sundowner Invitational, with both programs beating ranked teams.
The women began the day in stellar fashion, finishing as the top NCAA Division II team and second overall to the University of Portland. Biola came into the race as the no. 9 team in the west region and blew out the no. 5 team, Simon Fraser by a whole 18 points.
The Eagles' managed to get all of its top-5 runners to finish in the top-17 spots. Mackenna Mason led the way with a fourth-place finish as the top NCAA Division II runner in the whole field.
"The ladies had a great day. So proud of their efforts, top to bottom," said Head Coach
Sean Henning. "We talked a lot this week about not letting results define us, not feeling that we "must" to well, but to WANT to do well and give our best efforts with the abilities the Lord has given us."
Mason completed the 6,000 meters in 22:43.6 to finish just behind the top-3 runners from U of P. The next D2 runner in the bunch finished fifth but was a whole eight seconds behind Mason.
For the second race in a row it was newcomer Grace Catena who took the Eagles' no. 2 spot. Catena was the other Eagle to place in the top-10, coming in eighth with a 23:02.5.
After that, three Eagles took up spots between 11th and 17th to complete the fantastic team effort. Siena Stacy ran a 6k of 23:19 to take the Eagles' no. 3 scoring time in her first race.
"Not focusing on place, but our effort was important," said Henning. "We also really hammered down the importance of running together and connecting with each other out there. They did a very good job at that and competed well with the competition and themselves."
Also running her first race of the year was Clara Haynes, who placed 13th overall, two spots back from Stacy, with a time of 23:24.4.
"It feels great to be back out there competing," said the sophomore Haynes. "We have such a deep team this year and I could not be more excited about our team dynamic."
Rounding out BU's top-5 was the senior leader, Kaili Waller. Waller was 17th overall with a 23:30.7. Biola's depth was made evident in that they had three more runners finish within one minute of Waller's time.
The team also had the shortest spread of time between their top counting time and highest counting time. This is thanks to Waller finishing just :47 back from Mason.
"We are all ready to do what it takes to get to nationals, and everyone went out there and ran tough for each other today," said Haynes."
The men got the win paced by Gabe Plendcio, who earned an individual title for the second time in as many go-arounds this season. He beat the whole pack, including NCAA Division I runners from the University of Portland, with a 24:36.5.
Even without all hands on deck, or even all their runners running at full strength, Plendcio and his lads dominated the competition from the outset.
The Eagles' scoring runners all completed the course within 52 seconds of one another. That was the fourth-best mark in the 10-team field. That is not what mattered most, though. It was the final scores and points that meant the most on this day and BU had the edge there, getting its top-5 all finishing in the top-18. The Eagles compiled 38 points. Second place Portland had 55 points.
After Plendcio's top finish came Brady DeHaven (5th - 24:58.1), Jared Donnel (8th - 25:05.6) and Ryan St. Pierre (10th - 25:07.4).
"The whole team is super excited about today's race," said the junior St. Pierre. "We all agree that this is a big confidence booster going into the season. We took down the 11th team in the nation!"
That 11th team is Simon Fraser, which is also ranked No. 2 in the west region. The Eagles should see some significant movement in the next round of polls as BU was 23rd in the nation and no. 6 in the region in the latest ranking.
"From this point forward we are going to keep putting our best foot forward and encouraging each other," said St. Pierre. "I was thrilled with my results today as I was able to keep close with our top-3 and get us four in the top-10. Praising God for being my refuge!"
Rounding out the Eagles' five scoring runs was Gio Orellana, who placed 18th overall with a 25:28.9.
"The men ran great. While we may not have been at full strength today, I had complete confidence in this group of young men and knew they would come together as a family and compete together," said Henning. "We also reminded them at the start that their value isn't in places or times, but it's found in Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross for them. They were encouraged to use these wonderful gifts given to them by God to glorify Him with great effort and selflessness for their team."
Biola will let this win sink in as it watches another group have a go at the CSU San Bernardino Coyote Challenge on Saturday morning.
