The cross country team hit the race course on Saturday morning at the San Diego State University Aztec Invitational at Balboa Park. Our top-ranked women’s team took third, while the men placed sixth in a 6 mile race consisting mainly of NCAA Division I teams.
Senior Kelsey Gasner placed fourth in the women’s races, which brought them within three points of Long Beach State University and first-place Brigham Young University.
The Eagles’ top seven runners finished in the top 23 out of 83 runners in the women’s 4.5 mile race, with Gasner leading the way, coming in at 18:15.1 minutes. Following Gasner, fellow senior Katie Thede crossed the line at 18:41.4, and junior Nychele Fischetti, finished in 19:44.1.
Freshman Alexandra Sciarra, took 20th place in 18:54.6 minutes, followed by senior Sarah Brooks finishing 22nd at 19:04.7. Freshman Chelsea Janzen placed 23rd at 19:04.8, and junior Carissa Bowman finished 27th place in 19:10.4.
The Biola men’s team finished fifth in Saturday’s invitational. Four of the participating teams hail from Division I universities. Senior Ryan Richert, finished in seventh place in 26:08.6 minutes, making him the top finisher for our men’s team. Freshman Danny Ledesma finished in 28th place in 27:19, and junior Brian Aukshunus was 31st with a time of 27:24.3. Topping off the men’s race was senior Carter Williams, placing 35th in 27:38.9, along with sophomore Spencer Lyle at 39th in 27:44.4, and freshman Kyle Norman coming in 55th in 29:20.5.
The finish was an encouraging sign for both teams. To compete so well against NCAA Division I competition is a sign of a good season. Biola will have three more races before the Golden State Athletic Conference Championships in Fresno on Nov. 6.
In the most recent NAIA polls, released Sep. 22, the women’s team was still the top-ranked team in a unanimous vote–– meaning the Eagles got all of the 24 number-one votes. Other GSAC teams in the rankings were No. 2 Azusa Pacific, No. 7 Point Loma Nazerene, and No. 17 Westmont.
The women’s team is very excited by the contribution of freshmen athletes Sciarra, Janzen, Ledezma, and Norman. The team this year is experienced, with 13 upperclassmen. Their leadership is a valuable asset, not only this season, but in preparing the team’s future leaders.
The Eagles will return to the course at the Willamette University Invitational in Salem, Oregon on Saturday, Oct. 2 That race will be followed by an invitational at Vanguard University on Oct. 9. Finally, the Eagles will host the Biola University Invitational on Oct. 23 at Irvine Regional Park in Orange. This race will be their final tuneup before GSAC conference championships.
