Back-to-back champs

Women’s cross country win back-to-back GSAC titles while men take third.

Laurie Bullock, Writer • November 12, 2013

Junior Carrie Soholt and sophomore Kellian Hunt run side by side on the final stretch during the GSAC Championships in Costa Mesa. Hunt earned a first-place finish overall with a time of 17:27.15, followed closely by Soholt, who received second place with her time of 17:29.03. The women’s cross country team will be competing at the NAIA National championship meet at 10:30 a.m. in Lawrence, Kansas on Nov. 23. | Ashleigh Fox/THE CHIMES

Junior Carrie Soholt and sophomore Kellian Hunt run side by side on the final stretch during the GSAC Championships in Costa Mesa. Hunt earned a first-place finish overall followed closely by Soholt, who received second place. The women's cross country team will be competing at the NAIA National championship meet on Nov. 23. | Ashleigh Fox/THE CHIMES

For the second year in a row, women’s cross country captured the Golden State Athletic Conference title and established themselves as a national contender heading into the NAIA meet. The men finished their best since 2011 in third place.

“The GSAC is a challenging conference — one of the best in the NAIA — and that certainly requires a huge amount of focus and attention to detail,” head coach Jonathan Zimmerman said in an email. “Everyone did a great job of bringing their ‘A’ game and it paid off for us.”

Sophomore Kellian Hunt came in first place overall with her time of 17:27.15. Junior Carrie Soholt was close behind Hunt to finish second with a time of 17:29.03. Six of Biola’s runners finished within the top-15 to finish a close four points ahead of The Master’s College.

“Our goal was to win GSAC, so we knew we needed to run well and to pass as many Master’s girls as we could since they were our biggest competition,” Soholt said

Other finishers for the women’s team were freshman Lyndee Dawson coming in at 18:11.14 to place seventh and sophomore Anika Gasner crossing the finish line at 18:21.91 to place tenth. Senior Chelsea Janzen finished 14th with a time of 18:27.54.

The team won three overall non-conference meets during the 2013 season en route to capturing the GSAC title. Now the Eagles are looking forward to the NAIA meet on Nov. 23. The team attributes their successful season not only to skill, but to the close bond that they share to push each other during the tougher meets.

ON TO NATIONALS

“Our trust for each other — that we have each other's backs — has been a big progress for our team,” Janzen said. “Our commitment to being a team and working hard together has helped us accomplish big things this season.”

With nationals just around the corner, the women’s team is looking for a top four place.

“We would like to be on the podium,” Soholt said. “This team is ready, and I think we just need to stay calm and relaxed to do well.”

Senior Danny Ledesma placed third overall at the GSAC Championship meet in Costa Mesa on November 9. Ledesma’s third place finish qualified him for the nationals meet as an individual competitor. | Ashleigh Fox/THE CHIMES

The men’s team showed improvement from their fifth place finish last year by taking the third place finish this year.

Senior Danny Ledesma’s third place finish also qualified him for the nationals meet as an individual competitor. Ledesma finished with a time of 25:29.22, and almost a minute later junior Kevin Horchler crossed the finish line at 16:21.21 to place 13th overall.

The women’s team and Ledesma will compete in the NAIA national championship meet at 10:30 a.m. in Lawrence, Kansas on Nov. 23.

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