LA MIRADA, Calif. --- The Biola cross country teams turned in strong performances at two meets on Saturday, highlighted by a second-place finish for the women's team at the Lewis Crossover in Romeoville, Illinois. The men's team placed 12th at Lewis, while both teams competed at the Pomona-Pitzer Cross Country Invitational, with the men finishing fourth and the women taking sixth.
 

At the Lewis Crossover, junior Jaina Kang led the No. 23-ranked women's team with a seventh-place finish in 22:11.6 over the 6K course. Sophomore Claire Lesiw followed in 16th in 22:23.5, while freshman Alyssa Lopez placed 29th in 22:39.9. Sophomore Elizabeth Kurtz (32nd, 22:44.1) and senior Hailey Wurzbach (35th, 22:47.0) completed Biola's scoring five, with all five runners finishing within 36 seconds of one another.
 

The Eagles totaled 119 points to finish second among 26 teams, ahead of four nationally ranked programs, including No. 18 Winona State and No. 12 host Lewis. Colorado Christian won the team title with 74 points.
 

Senior Zach Elam paced the men's team at Lewis, placing seventh among 275 runners in 24:26.2 over the 8K course. Grant Miller also finished in the top 20, taking 18th in 24:42.2. James Rieckewald-Schmidt placed 65th in 25:34.2, while Edgar Ortega (124th, 26:11.9) and Ben Sonneland (129th, 26:14.3) rounded out the scoring five. Biola finished 12th among 27 teams with 319 points. Western Washington claimed the team title with 114 points.
 

At Pomona-Pitzer, freshman Samuel Ruiz led the men's team with a 14th-place finish in 26:47.3 over the 8K course. Fellow freshman Camden Gudgel followed in 18th in 26:55.0, and the Eagles placed fourth with 93 points, six behind third-place Caltech.
 

Sophomore Serenity Fausto led the women's team at Pomona-Pitzer, finishing 13th in 22:55.0 over the 6K course. Freshmen Ellie Edwards (41st, 24:14.7) and Kyrstin Timothy (44th, 24:21.2) followed, helping Biola place sixth with 169 points, just one behind fifth-place Cal Lutheran.
 

The Eagles will race in the Highlander Invitational on October 17th in Riverside.