RIVERSIDE, Calif. --- The Biola Cross Country teams toed the line with some of the region's best at the UC Riverside Invitational this weekend, holding their own in a field stacked with top NCAA Division I, II, and III talent. The women earned an impressive fifth-place finish out of 24 teams, while the men took eighth in a 24-team field.

The women got things rolling early in the morning with the invite section of the 6K. Bethany Mapes led the charge for the Eagles, finishing 8th overall in 20:39, showcasing her toughness and leadership. Hailey Wurzbach (21:00.5) and Maddie Ebright (21:12.7) backed her up with strong performances, while Elizabeth Kurtz (21:17.5) earned high praise from Head Coach Sean Henning, "Elizabeth was the biggest rockstar of the day, running harder than she ever has before from the gun and really putting herself out there." Freshman Jaina Kang (21:21.6) rounded out the scoring five in a race where Biola totaled 170 points.

"We raced some pretty solid schools, including a few that are ranked in our region," said Henning. "I thought they raced really hard and that means a lot."

In the women's open 6K, Grace Regan turned heads with a significant personal best time of 18:51.8, gaining confidence as she steadily worked her way through the field. Henning added, "I thought all of our freshmen did a really good job and I'm extremely proud of them."

The men's invite 8K brought a blend of highs and challenges. Melt von Molendorff was the story of the day, blazing to a third-place finish in 23:36.6—one of the fastest times in program history. Henning called it a potential school record and praised Melt's smart, aggressive racing.

"Melt had a phenomenal day. He's worked very hard and I was very proud to see him race so smart and put himself out there the way he did," said Henning.

Grant Miller (24:24.4), Isaac Hampson (24:56.1), and Aiden Burr (25:35.2) also had solid outings, notching finishing positions of 29, 69, and 133. Marcin Stanglewicz added a scoring effort with a mark of 25:08.0 in 88th place.

"The men are still sorting out their new identity, but I'm confident we can get there by regionals," said Henning.

The Eagles will be back in action next week at the Pomona-Pitzer invite on Saturday morning.