FRESNO, Calif. --- The postseason has already arrived for Biola cross country, as they head to Fresno, California for the PacWest Championships. The Eagles are the reigning champions for both men's and women's and each will look to defend their crown on Saturday.

The women's race is scheduled first this weekend with a 9:00 am start for the 6k race. The men's 8k race will follow at Woodward Park with a start time of 10:00 am.

Biola will be hoping to have a repeat performance of its 2022 PacWest Championships. The team swept all four championships, including the men's and women's team titles and the individual winners. 

The women's individual champion in Lynette Ruiz will be back and looking to help the Eagles to continued success on the course. So far in 2023, Bethany Mapes has been setting the pace for the squad on the way to two team victories at the Biola Invite and Master's Invite. The BU women also nabbed seventh at the Lewis Crossover, which included a loaded field of ranked squads.

The BU women have earned strong ratings in the USTFCCCA National Poll throughout the season. The team reached as high as No. 13 in the nation and never dropped below No. 18, which was the preseason poll. Regionally, the squad stayed consistent in the third spot in the west region.

For the Biola men, the team opened the season being voted third in the PacWest Preseason Poll. The team began the year with a second place showing at the Biola Invite, before taking third at the Master's Invite and 11th at the Lewis Crossover. 

Biola graduated the PacWest reigning champion in Benjamin White and has been relying on the pack to carry the load. The group to guide the Eagles features Jerry Baltzer, Charlie Bailey, Ryan Todd, and Aidan Tomasini.

The Eagles began the season rated seventh in the west region and have improved since then. Following their performance at the Master's Invite, the BU squad moved into sixth in the region and have maintained heading into the championship weekend.

Both teams will look to maintain an impressive streak of top finishes at the PacWest Championships. Neither team has placed outside of the top three through five appearances and will look to extend that on Saturday.

Fresno Pacific will play host to the championships on Saturday with a 9:00 am start for the women's 6k and a 10:00 am start for the men's 8k.