WAIPAHU, Hawaii---There was no stopping the Biola cross country teams on Saturday morning as they claimed the PacWest Conference Championships titles at the Hawaii Country Club.

Biola's women earned their fourth-straight PacWest Conference crown and the men earned their fourth in program history. The last time Biola's men won was in 2022.

Biola Women's Cross Country
The reigning champions put together another commanding performance, finishing with a team score of 42 at the 6k course. Biola was 27 points ahead of the next-best team, Point Loma, who scored 69.

"We had a great day as a collective team," stated head coach Sean Henning. "The women got the ball rolling with a really solid performance. Not everyone was at their best, unfortunately, but that's why we have a team! Some girls stepped up when others were struggling and that is going to pay huge dividends for us throughout the rest of the season. Our goal was to be patient and smart in the race, taking our time to move up, in particular over the last mile. Most of the girls did a pretty good job of that. A couple of them were a little too patient early on, and that cost them a few spots, but I think it was wise of them and was the safe course to take on the day."

Bethany Mapes was the PacWest Conference Women's Cross Country Individual Champion with a speedy time of 21:40.6. Mapes finished 5.8 seconds ahead of the second place runner from Vanguard, Ella Murray.

"I was really proud of Bethany for getting that conference championship that she has been working towards for four years now," said Henning. "She ran a very smart race and didn't take the lead until sometime in the last few minutes."

"During the final stretch I was trying really hard to push and I was telling myself to keep going," shared Mapes. "It's a really hard, uphill last stretch and there was a pack close behind me earlier on."
 
Mapes continued, "I was trying to gain as much ground as I could because I knew that last stretch was going to be difficult. I was trying to not look back and keep pressing forward."

Mapes is a four-time All-PacWest runner and this is her first-ever Individual victory at the conference championships.

Biola had three runners in the top 10 including Mapes, Jaina Kang and Maddie Ebright. Kang placed sixth with a time of 21:58.1 and Ebright was eighth with a time of 21:59.5.

Hailey Wurzbach finished just outside the top 10, placing 11th with a time of 22:17.1.

Rounding out BU's top seven were Claire Lesiw (16th, 22:25.2), Elizabeth Kurtz (18th, 22:29.1) and Karis Brown (22nd, 22:39.2).

"I was also very happy with Claire for putting herself out there," continued Henning. "She dropped significantly over the last couple minutes of the race, but she closed the gap from our five to our six and did exactly what I think she needed to do to show that she can be a scoring member if need be. Jaina also had a really strong day today, and lastly, I was happy with Karis and how she raced. She missed her fourth consecutive all conference honor by one place, but this was a very good day for her nonetheless."

Biola had six runners earn All-PacWest recognition. Mapes, Kang and Ebright were First Team All-PacWest. Wurzbach was Second Team All-PacWest and Lesiw and Kurtz earned Third Team All-PacWest honors.

Biola Men's Cross Country
Biola's men put together a phenomenal performance, upsetting Azusa Pacific who has won the last two conference championships. The Eagles won with a team score of 35 at the 8k course which was 18 points better than Fresno Pacific who came in second.

"I was very happy with the men's race," stated Henning. "The plan for the guys was to be extremely controlled for the first two loops, waiting until the last big loop to have any sort of real assertiveness in the race. Unfortunately, we probably got out a little too aggressive, but I felt like they did a very good job dealing with that tactical error and managing that position well. No one really made any huge drops from where they started, a testament to their fitness and toughness."

Melt von Molendorff was the PacWest Conference Men's Cross Country Individual Champion with a dominant time of 24:33.6. Von Molendorff finished 10.6 seconds ahead of the second place runner from CUI, Noah Plaza.

"Melt has been working extremely hard and has had a great season thus far," said Henning. "He timed his move very well. All year we have been talking about staying patient until the last mile to do any sort of aggressive move, and today wasn't any different. I believe he took over with about half a mile left in the race and never looked back." 

Von Molendorff is a three-time All-PacWest runner and this is his first-ever Individual victory at the conference championships.

"This win means a lot to my team," stated von Molendorff. "It's great to come here in my final year and win it."

Biola had three runners in the top 10 including von Molendorff, Grant Miller and Marcin Stanglewicz. Miller, a freshman, placed fourth with a time of 25:04.5 and Stanglewicz, a redshirt-freshman, was sixth with a time of 25:09.8.

Joshua Klausmeier finished just outside the top 10, placing 11th with a time of 25:28.6.

Rounding out BU's top seven were Jeremiah Echeverria (13th, 25:33), Aiden Burr (27th, 26:29.2) and Carter Hawley (41st, 27:18.3).

Henning concluded, "Marcin had a huge day and has showed tremendous growth from the first race until now. Very proud of his effort. Josh also had his best race of the year, sticking his nose in it, and being a scrappy runner that fights all the way through. Lastly, Jeremiah was the fifth runner we have been desperately needing over the last couple of meats. We needed one guy to step up and give us a top 14 finish for our number five, and Jeremiah was able to do that very well."

Biola had five runners earn All-PacWest recognition. von Molendorff, Miller and Stanglewicz were First Team All-PacWest. Klausmeier and Echeverria earned Second Team All-PacWest honors.

Next up for the Biola cross country teams is the NCAA Division II West Regionals on Saturday, Nov. 8 at the Ash Creek Preserve in Monmouth, Oregon.