The Biola cross country team competed in their first meet since the Mustang Challenge on Sept. 19. Coming off three weeks of training, the teams finished with mixed results as the women finished second of 13 and the men finished fifth of 10.
Steps in the the Right Direction
Both teams are coming off a three week intensive training period of running 60-80 miles per week.
Senior Kevin Horchler led the men’s team in the 8k with his ninth place finish and time of 26:57.79. He was followed by sophomore Timothy Wilson, whose time of 27:48.57 earned him 24th. Other top finishes for the Eagles were senior Shane Brinson in 29th, freshman Christian Perez Basulto in 33rd and freshman Ryan Thompson in 43rd.
“I’d say overall we did alright,” Wilson said. “It wasn’t our best race, we didn’t really hit our goals. We’re definitely taking steps in the right direction and we’re just looking forward to our goal of hopefully making Nationals and winning conference.”
Placing
The team’s combined finish landed them in fifth place out of the 10 teams that competed. Azusa Pacific University earned second among the men.
“Our hope is just to perform well, move up in the rankings so we can help our chances with Nationals,” Wilson said.
The women’s team finished second out of the 13 teams in the meet, placing them only behind California State University San Bernardino.
“I think that it wasn’t our best meet,” said senior Kellian Hunt. “But I think it still went pretty well considering that for a lot of our girls, including myself, it was our first 6k that we’ve done as a race. Usually we do 5ks and it was very hot.”
A Good Warm Up
Hunt led the team in the 6k with a third place finish and final time of 22:02.37. Senior Anika Gasner was the second Eagle to cross the finish line with a time of 22:28.04, earning her an eighth place finish.
Sophomore Lyndee Johnson earned a time of 22:54.41 and finished 13th, followed by sophomore Stephanie Croy in 21st and freshman Kaili Waller in 22nd.
“I think that it was a good warm up for this next weekend,” Hunt said. We have the Bronco Invite and it will be a tough one, lots of competition. So we’ll be ready for that one.”
Increasing Personal Bests
Both teams will compete in the Bronco Invitational on Oct 17. in Sunnyvale, Calif. This course holds a reputation of being extra fast and the Biola cross country team will look to increase a lot of their athletes’ personal best.
