UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. --- Top programs in the west gathered in Washington on Saturday for the final major cross country competition before the postseason. The Eagles showed their prowess on both sides, making the top seven on the team scoreboard for the men's and women's races.

"We came into this race with a lot of humility," said head coach Sean Henning. "There were some very good teams here, those in our region and out of our region. We know that just because you beat someone one week, doesn't mean the results will be the same the next time you see them."

The BU women's squad was one of only two teams to place its five scorers in the top 40 and all seven competitors in the top 45. The team effort helped the Eagles pick up a third place finish with 151 points. 

No. 3 Colorado School of Mines and No. 11 Western Colorado were the only two squads to outrun the Eagles on Saturday. The 20th-ranked Eagles took down the other ranked teams in the meet, including No. 12 Chico State and No. 29 Western Washington.

Consistency was key for the Biola squad on Saturday. Between the three splits, each BU runner did not deviate by more than five places amongst the field. This led to a predictable finish, as the Eagles maintained its team's third position throughout the whole race.

Sophomore Lynette Ruiz held her usual role as the lead runner for BU. She opened up in 18th place after the first split, before cruising in for a 21st place finish at 21:45.3.

A trio of freshmen came through next for a young Eagles squad. Bethany Mapes took 26th on Saturday with a time of 21:52.4. Maggie Williams and Ellie Stetina logged times just above 22 minutes for placements of 37 and 39, respectively. Williams put together one of the best final stretches, posting a final split of 5:34.5 for the second best on the team.

Haleigh Guerrero rounded out the scorers, nabbing 40th in the race. Guerrero closed out the race with a mark of 22:11.8. "She had a huge day for us. She showed great poise throughout the first half of the race and a very strong push the last mile and a half," commented Henning.

"We beat every other team in the region which is always fun to do," added Henning about his women's squad. "We definitely showed our team depth today, with 10 girls all finishing in the top 60."

The newest Eagle for the BU men's team continued his impressive 2022 campaign. Benjamin White led the team once again with a mark of 24:20.6. The speedy time was good enough for 18th place.

Jerry Baltzer and Aidan Tomasini paired up through the first two splits. Baltzers picked up the pace to end the race, taking 41st with a time of 24:59.0, while Tomasini came in at 25:09.3 for 54th. 

Henning was happy to see Tomasini's performance on Saturday, "That might have been the best race of the season for him. He was a lot more controlled at the start and moved up well. That will help him to establish a more balanced race moving forward to 10 K."

The Eagles as a whole, came out slower than what they would have wanted. Through the first split, the team sat in 11th and gradually made up ground for a seventh place finish.

"We were a little too conservative through 2 miles, and even though a lot of our guys moved up they were a bit too far back," said Henning. "It was a good day, but we definitely left points on the board and need to establish a little bit better position at the start next time."

For the fourth-straight race, Ryan Todd cemented a better personal-best on Saturday. The sophomore ran a consistent race for 58th place at 25:13.4. Teammate Brady DeHaven was not far behind at 25:26.4, which helped him score 74th place.

Seven Eagles finished in the top 100 of over 200 runners, including the team's five scorers and Jacob Shirota and Charlie Bailey.

Both squads will now shift their focus to the PacWest Championships, which are set for November 5 in San Leandro, California.