Men’s and women’s cross country traveled to San Francisco, Calif. to compete in their second race of the season in the San Francisco State University Invitational. The men gained their second invitational win and the women recorded their first victory of the season.
Four men dominated the top 10 finishes in the 8k run. Junior Gabe Plendcio led the way for Biola by finishing second with a time of 25:16.01. Victor Moreau from the Academy of Art University took the win with a time of 25:12.61.
Freshman Jared Donnel came in sixth, marking his first top 10 finish as an Eagle with a time of 25:53.11. Sophomore Gio Orellana claimed the seventh spot, a few seconds behind Donnel with a time of 25:59.41. Sophomore Angel Escobar finished in ninth place with a time of 26:07.01.
Overall, the men finished in first place with 34 points and a team average time of 25:53.11. Art U came in second with 51 points and a team average time of 26:08.66.
The women’s 6k race saw three more Eagles place in the top 10. Sophomore Mackenna Mason grabbed second place with a time of 22:13.71. Hasna Kaarour from Art U finished first a few seconds ahead of Mason in 22:10.61.
Not too far behind, freshman Clara Haynes finished fourth for the Eagles with a time of 22:27.61. Senior Emily Ransom claimed the last top-10 spot for the Eagles by finishing sixth with a time of 22:41.11. Sophomore Kaitlyn Natividad finished 12th in 23:11.32.
The women came out on top with their first win of the season by finishing with 39 points and an average time of 22:47.34. Art U once again took second with a score of 60 points and finished with an average time of 23:04.16.
Both men’s and women’s cross country will continue their season and compete in The Master’s University Mustang Invitational in Santa Clarita, Calif. on Sept. 29.