RIVERSIDE, Calif. --- All of the top cross country programs across southern California made their way out to UC Riverside for Saturday's invite. The Eagles represented well, competing against a mix of NCAA Division I and Division II opponents. 

The women's squad took the UCR Agg Course first, landing in 10th place. 289 points for BU was good for the top-third in the field of 30, who were led by Arizona at 140 points.

"I was very happy with the end result of the race," commented head coach Sean Henning. "It took them a while to find a rhythm and connect with each other, largely due to the quick bottle neck and hairpin turn on the course that requires you to be diligent in establishing good position."

In their second race of 2022, the Eagles changed pace to a 6k length but still saw consistency in their best finishers. Eight runners for Biola took the course with Lynette Ruiz pacing the team at 21:12.5. The mark was a personal-best for Ruiz, who nabbed 39th individually.

Bethany Mapes and Grace Catena came in next, neck-and-neck. The duo were separated by just .1 seconds to grab 54th and 55th. The freshman Mapes snuck ahead of her teammate, finishing at 21:26.2, while Catena was timed at 21:26.3 for a personal-best.

The running partners of Ellie Stetina and Lauren Landrith went back-to-back just like their teammates. The freshmen pair nabbed 76th and 77th with Stetina crossing the finish line at 21:39.1 and Landrith at 21:40.9.

Six BU runners came in the top-100 amongst individuals and all eight finished in the top 150 in a field of over 200 athletes.

"There is so much more in the tank and I can't wait to see them continue to grow this season," added Henning. "Out of the eight girls who ran in this race, six of them are freshman or sophomores, so there is a lot of learning and growing to do and the future is bright."

The BU men's squad followed the women's invite early in the morning on Saturday. The 8k event featured 31 teams and the Eagles landed in the middle of the pack at 17. Biola was firmly ahead of 18th place CUI, who tallied 501 points.

"I think the guys learned a lot from this race," said Henning. "We talked about being conservative at the start, but we were extremely conservative and that put us in a tough spot at 2 km. Credit to the guys and their perseverance. They didn't hit the panic button and worked their way up over the next 6 km very well. We still ended up running a great team time, so once we figure out the appropriate spot to go out, this team will run significantly faster."

Benjamin White was the leader in the clubhouse for the BU men. The transfer saw his second race as an Eagle and led the way once again, taking 18th place in the event. His blazing time of 24:12.5 put him right in the mix with the top runners, while helping Biola lead most DII squads.

Next up, Jerry Baltzer also finished under 25 minutes for the Eagles. The junior grabbed 90th place with his best mark in college at 24:59.4. 

Three more Eagles came in before the 25:30 mark with each placing in the top 140 runners. Aidan Tomasini nabbed 101st with a time of 25:06.6, while Ryan Todd grabbed 128th at 25:18.3 and Brady DeHaven finished in 135th at 25:22.0. All three runners maintained a strong pace, moving up in position in nearly every split on the course.

"I definitely think our entire team did a great job of understanding that their worth isn't rooted in running fast, but in Christ and in taking everything they've been given and doing everything they can to maximize them for God's glory," said Henning.

BU cross country will be back in action at the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational on October 8.