MONMOUTH, Ore. --- Another year saw another top seven placement for the Eagles at the NCAA DII West Regional Championships. The BU men's cross country team maintained its streak of four-consecutive top seven finishes at regionals with a seventh place showing in Oregon on Saturday.

The 10k race saw seven Eagles take the course but the team opened the race in 12th place in a field of 23 teams. Biola made a move at the 4k mark, jumping three spots with a major lead ahead by Charlie Bailey. The Eagles continued to improve after the next 2k, settling into seventh place, which would hold through to the finish.

Biola tallied 253 points on Saturday and totaled a team time of 2:40.38 on the way to seventh place. Chico State earned the title of regional champs with 47 points and were followed by Azusa Pacific in second and Cal Poly Pomona in third.

"This was a really tough day for us," said Head Coach Sean Henning. "I still haven't processed everything yet, but we will need to take a hard look at why this race seems to be a struggle for us. The guys are fit and talented enough to be a top five team in the region, we just haven't quite figured it out yet when we get to regionals. I thought Aidan Tomasini and Charlie Bailey had good days for our team, finishing 28th and 32nd, but it was a tough day for the rest of the guys and we wanted more. We trust in the Lord's sovereignty, and I love this group of men, but we are still disappointed. We will leave no stone unturned as we regroup and move forward as a team." 

Aidan Tomasini was the leader of the pack for the Eagles. The junior nabbed 28th place at 31:32.1, while maintaining a strong pace throughout. After the first 2k of the race, Tomasini began to make his move, going from 81st to 50th over the next 4k. The time posted for Tomasini on Saturday marked his personal-best 10k in his collegiate career.

Bailey was only three seconds behind his teammate, Tomasini, taking 32nd on the day. Charlie also notched his best showing as an Eagle with a time of 31:35.3 in the 10k race. His biggest jump came between the 2k and 4k marks, improving 22 spots in the stretch.

Biola put three more runners in the top 70 with Ben Sonneland, Jerry Baltzer, and Ryan Todd, rounding out the scorers. The freshman Sonneland saw his first regionals action, grabbing 60th place at 32:23.1. Baltzer came next at 64 and next Todd at 69 with times of 32:29.9 and 32.38.5, respectively.

The BU squad was one of only six teams to place its top six runners in the top 76 amongst individual finishers.