With cross country season beginning, there are high hopes for men’s and women’s cross country this year. The Eagles received a number one ranking in the PacWest preseason poll, and are hoping to live up to those rankings and then some. Sophomore Mackenna Mason has had an excellent start to the season after a great freshman year and will look to continue leading Biola.

In the Eagles’ first invitational of the year hosted by Biola on Sept. 8, Mason finished third overall in the 5k run with a blazing time of 18:33.01. This helped the Eagles to a third place finish at the tournament to start the year strong.

This past Friday, Mason took second place overall in the 6k run at the San Francisco State Invitational, logging a time of 22:13.7 to help Biola take first place in the team competition out of the 12 schools present.

This terrific display of speed and the ability to consistently finish in the top three has earned Mason Chimes Athlete of the Week.