Biola University Athletics

Branden Cruz began his tenure as Asst. Track and Field/XC Coach at Biola in 2024. He focuses on the distance events and serves as the distance recruiting coordinator.

At Biola:

• 2024: The women won their third straight PacWest cross country title, and both the men and women qualified for the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships.
• 2025: Melt von Molendorff won the PacWest 10,000 meters in track. In the fall, Biola swept the PacWest men's and women's cross country titles, with von Molendorff winning the men's individual title and PacWest Runner of the Year, and Bethany Mapes won the NCAA Division II West Region individual title.
• 2026: The women won the program's first PacWest track and field championship, with Mapes winning the 1,500 and 5,000 meters, and von Molendorff defended his PacWest 10,000-meter title.

Cruz coached distance and cross country, hurdles and relays at Sonora High School in La Habra from 2019 to 2026, where the program won multiple conference titles and produced multiple all-section athletes.

A La Habra, Calif., native, Cruz competed in cross country and track at Sonora, where he came to know Christ through the boldness of a teammate who shared the gospel with him. Cruz studied kinesiology at Cal State Fullerton from 2018 to 2022. Along the way, he spent two years as a men's basketball student manager, where he discovered his passion for coaching.

Cruz lives in Fullerton with his wife and daughter. They are members of Grace Evangelical Free Church in La Mirada.