Head track and field coach Sean Henning divided up his Eagles teams on Easter Weekend, sending some men’s and women’s runners up to the San Francisco State Distance Carnival in Hayward, Cailf. on March 30. The Eagles competed in several events from early in the morning to late at night, spending well over 13 hours on the campus of host Chabot College. Their day began and ended with runners setting personal bests, with some highlights in between.
DAY STARTS WITH DISTANCE
Junior Emily Ransom paced the Eagles in the first and longest event of the day, the women’s 10,000-meter. The third-year runner finished with a 37:37 time to finish in the top half of the individual leaderboard and set a new personal record. Other Biolans in the race included juniors Crystal Jardines, who finished 31st with a 37:49 mark, and Jessica Cody, who placed 50th with a 39:41 time. Junior Ryan Thompson, the only Eagle in the men’s 10,000-meter, finished 14th with a time of 32:29.
Biola put three runners in the women’s 1500-meter, led by sophomores Kaitlyn Natividad and Shannon Howell who finished with times of 4:51.44 and 4:53.62, respectively. Sophomore Melissa Ledesma, the other Eagle in the race, finished a little further behind with a 4:58.68 mark. Sophomore Robbie Gleeson led the Eagles in the men’s 1500-meter, getting on the top half of the leaderboard with a 4:03.53 time. Fellow sophomore Nic Nelson and senior Timmy Wilson rounded out the Eagles’ runners with respective times of 4:15.42 and 4:22.10.
Sophomore Chris Campbell suited up for the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase and did well, finishing 18th with a 10:46 time.
CROY’S FANTASTIC 5K
The day finished with the rest of the Eagles’ contingent participating in the men’s and women’s 5000-meter races. Junior Stephanie Croy led the way for Biola in the women’s 5k with an impressive 17:32 time to finish 38th in a field full of NCAA Division I contestants. Freshman Mackenna Mason and senior Hannah Hunsaker also finished in the top 100 with times of 18:08 and 18:29, respectively. Junior Kaitlin Quaid also finished with a sub-19 minute mark, coming in with a mark of 18:36.
Three of the Eagles’ six runners in the men’s 5k finished in the top 100 of a similarly stacked leaderboard, paced by sophomore Gabriel Plendcio with a 14:57.27 time. Freshman Giovanni Orellana added to his already strong rookie season with a time of 14:58.97, while another freshman, Ryan St. Pierre, rounded out the top three with a 15:02.01 time.
The Eagles squad will return home for Easter while their teammates take on the California Collegiate Open at University of California San Diego on March 31.
