CORONA, Calif. --- Biola Cross Country opened its 2026 campaign Saturday at the Mark Covert Classic, with the Eagles putting together a pair of strong team performances. The women secured a second-place finish with 49 points, while the men placed fifth with 119 points.

The Biola women were led by Jaina Kang, who got her season started with a third-place finish. Kang crossed the line in 20:54.9 to lead the Eagles and score three points for the team.

Hailey Wurzbach followed closely behind, taking fifth in 21:00.9. Claire Lesiw finished 13th in 21:15.6, while Lauren Sherman and Alyssa Lopez rounded out the scoring five. Sherman placed 15th in 21:16.9 and Lopez finished 19th in 21:24.1, giving Biola a total of 49 points.

The Eagles also had Mikayla Galvin finish 22nd in 21:25.6 and Elizabeth Kurtz take 26th in 21:32.8, giving Biola seven runners inside the top 26.

"On the ladies side, we tried to do the same thing for the first 2 miles, nice and controlled," stated Head Coach Sean Henning. "They raced the last mile and a half or so and we did very well at that. The breakout runner of the day was Jaina without a doubt, she put herself in position to win the race. I also think freshman Lauren Sherman had a huge day and is primed for a great season. We look forward to opening up and racing more aggressively in two weeks at Riverside."

On the men's side, Zach Elam paced the Eagles with a runner-up finish in 25:09.3. Elam's second-place effort accounted for one point in Biola's team total and gave the Eagles their highest individual finish of the meet.

Grant Miller was next across for Biola, finishing 20th in 25:36.9. Isaac Hampson followed in 39th at 26:21.4, with Brayden Lunetta just behind in 40th at 26:25.1. Toren Habbestad rounded out the scoring five, placing 43rd in 26:29.1.

The Eagles finished with 119 points to take fifth, while James Rieckewald-Schmidt added a 44th-place finish in 26:30.3 and Edgar Ortega finished 51st in 26:43.2.

"The plan for the men's race was to have our guys run a very controlled effort for the first 3 miles and then race the last 2 miles hard," continued Henning. "I think for the most part we accomplished the goal. Part of our group was a little too timid early on, and that showed in the scores, but I'm OK with it as it was our first race of the season. Zach did a good job leading the charge for us. He moved up significantly throughout the race and showed his fitness without a doubt."

Biola will return to action next Saturday, Sept. 19th, at the UC Riverside Invitational.