Men’s cross country grabs first win of season

Women begin season strong with two top 10 finishes.

Sasha Terry, Copy Editor • September 8, 2018

Several Eagles are shown in the lead pack during the Biola Invitational Men’s 8k on Sept. 8, 2018.

Photo courtesy of Courtesy of Biola Athletics

Biola men’s and women’s cross country kicked off their second NCAA Division ll season with a strong showing at the Biola Invitational in Fullerton, Calif. on Saturday. The men’s team grabbed their first win of the season while the women placed third in the event.

Junior Gabe Plendcio led the way for the Eagles in the men’s 8k race. He finished in second place with a time of 25:29.45 a few seconds behind Michael Oldach of Westmont College who finished with a 25:25.80 mark.

A few spots behind Plendcio, three Eagles claimed the last few finishes of the top 10, one after the other. Freshman Brady DeHaven finished sixth in 25:49.11, followed by sophomore Angel Escobar who finished in seventh with a time of 25:58.45, and sophomore Giovanni Orellana placed eighth with a mark of 26:03.15.

Overall, the Eagles won the team competition with 28 points, leaving Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in second with 49 points.

The women’s 5k proved much faster and more difficult for Biola. Two Eagles finished in the top 10 of the race, led by sophomore Mackenna Mason who placed third overall with a mark of 18:33.01. She came just shy of Point Loma Nazarene University’s Hannah Benoit-Bucher who won the event by a time of 18:10.58. Freshman Clara Haynes claimed the other top 10 spot for the Eagles by finishing seventh with a time of 18:52.93.

Senior Emily Ransom placed 12th with a time of 19:01.06 while junior Amanda Reyes placed 15th in 19:13.40. The Eagles finished third in the team standings with an overall score of 55 points and PLNU grabbed the win with 40 points.

The next meet for men’s and women’s cross country will be at the San Francisco State University Invitational in San Francisco, Calif. on Sept. 21 at 3:30 p.m.

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About the Contributor

Sasha Terry, Copy Editor

Sasha Terry is a senior journalism major who is known for her positivity and passion. She enjoys writing, playing sports, watching movies, traveling, shopping and spending time with friends and family. After traveling from Auburn, Washington which is about 40 minutes south of Seattle, to Biola University, I declared to major in journalism with an emphasis in broadcast. I came to Biola University with a strong passion for being involved in activities on campus that would demonstrate my artistic and writing abilities. The Chimes caught my eye the first semester of my freshman year and I decided to work with the staff as a freelance sports writer. I enjoyed attending the games, interviewing the coaches and players and writing game recaps. The next semester, I applied for the sports staff writer position and was accepted, which strengthened my writing drastically. During my sophomore and junior year, I worked as a Web Editor and innovated the Chimes website and social media pages. This year, I am stepping into the Copy Editor position and I aim to continue working towards my goal of being a broadcast journalist by reporting stories and challenging myself to learn more about AP Style. I will also continue to write for the sports section to strengthen my writing even more. I’m so glad to be a part of the staff and I’m excited for what’s to come next.