Women place first, men third in Biola hosted race

The Biola women’s cross-country team placed first and the men’s team finished third on Saturday at the 2011 Biola University Cross-Country Invitational at Irvine Regional Park in Orange to close out their regular season.

The women’s team scored 43 points in their 5K race and the men scored 56 in their 8K race.

The women race well against GSAC opponents

The women’s race was a competitive one against four other Golden State Athletic Conference teams: The Master’s College, Westmont College, Point Loma Nazarene University and Fresno Pacific University. The Eagles went on to claim first place, however, Master’s and Westmont runners took first and second place individually. Freshman Holly Kopp from Master’s crossed the line first in 18:05.8 and Westmont senior Kate Stuart placed second in 18:16.6.

The women were able to grab first place by keeping their runners in a close pack and placing four runners in the top nine. Senior Carissa Bowman was the top finisher for the Eagles, coming in fifth place at 18:35.3. Senior Nychele Fischetti crossed the finish line right behind Bowman in 18:40.8 followed by freshman Jessica Marquardt coming in eighth place. Keeping the gap close, junior Rachel Stump came in ninth place in 18:59.3 and senior Jane Kerner followed with a time of 19:30.0.

“Our team mentality was to simply run for our Lord and as a team,” Marquardt said. “I guess we had an advantage because it is our home course, but the trial is the same for each team.”

Men run a united race

The men’s race featured the same GSAC teams, with Master’s and Westmont finishing just ahead of the Eagles and Point Loma and Fresno coming in after. Master’s edged out Westmont 43-46. The Eagles came in third place with their tight-knit race strategy, allowing their top five runners to come in the top 20.

Senior Collin Christensen led the men’s team with a fifth place finish and a 25:22.7 time. The Eagles kept to their race strategy by grouping up as a team, which resulted in the men stacking 11th to 13th place. Pacing the crew were freshman Kevin Horchler coming in at 11th place, sophomore Danny Ledesma in 12th and senior Brian Aukshunas in 13th place with a time of 25:54.9. Junior Spencer Lyle closed it for the men’s team by edging out a runner from Master’s and coming in at 26:19.4.

“We wanted to have a tight one through six split, and this was accomplished with a 65 second gap,” Christensen said. “We also had a one through five split of less than a minute, thanks to our number five man, Spencer Lyle for stepping up and having his best race of the season.”

The men’s team finished only 13 points shy of the third-ranked team in the nation, The Master’s College and 10 points behind Westmont College, currently ranked 11th in the nation.

“Our contingent of Biola fans was a real treat to have at our home race,” Christensen said. “… Including Dr. Barry Corey, who worked around his busy schedule to cheer our guys and girls.”

The Biola cross-country teams race next in Fresno for the 2011 GSAC Cross-Country Championships at Woodward Park on Nov. 5. Both teams are racing for conference titles with a trip to nationals on the line.