Men’s Cross Country wins Biola’s first PacWest championship

Gabe Plendcio, men’s team wins first place at Woodward Park while the women take third.

Joel Ashor and Andi Basista • November 2, 2018

Men’s Cross Country wins Biola’s first PacWest championship

Photo courtesy of Courtesy of Biola Athletics/Twitter

Cross country traveled to Woodward Park in Fresno, California for the PacWest championships Friday morning and made history for Biola Athletics. The men’s team came out on top with a total time of 2:06:44 to win the school’s first ever PacWest championship, and the women also had a podium finish by placing third overall.

Junior Gabe Plendcio finished in first place to win the individual title with a time of 24:43:8 in the men’s 8k, and four other Eagles placed within the top 15 to help Biola win by 25 points. Sophomore Giovanni Orellana finished in seventh place with a time of 5:05:7.

Sophomore Angel Escobar finished in 11th place with a time of 5:08:2. Freshman Jared Donnel finished in 13th place with a time of 5:08:4, and freshman Brady DeHaven finished in 14th place with a time of 5:08:9.

Biola’s women came out of the 6k race with a total time of 1:55:00, placing them in third place overall behind first place Point Loma Nazarene University and runner up Azusa Pacific University. Sophomore Mackenna Mason finished in sixth place with a total time of 22:21:0, and senior Emily Ransom finished with a time of 22:49:9.

Freshman Clara Haynes and Junior Amanda Reyes both finished within the top 20. Haynes finished with a time of 6:09:8 and Reyes finished with a time of 6:12:5.

The Eagles will return to action on Nov. 10th at the NCCAA Championships in Point Lookout, Missouri. The men’s cross country team looks to win its second straight NCCAA title this weekend.

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About the Contributors

Joel Ashor, Sports Editor

Joel Ashor is a junior broadcast journalism major with a love for sports, friends, and history. Joel is a Notre Dame football, Angels baseball, and Boston Celtics fan. [email protected] Growing up in the small city of Santa Maria, California as the youngest of four boys, I was always surrounded by things much earlier than normal, due to the fact that I experienced things through my much older brothers. One of the things I experienced was sports, and when I started watching and seeing what it looked like to be on a sports team, I fell in love. In my family, sports is not really an option, it just is something that we all do. Luckily my parents never had to force me or my brothers to play sports because we all had a passion for it. From a young age I immersed myself in the culture of sports, watching any sport that was on, growing a particular liking to college football. My uncle attended the University of Notre Dame, and my whole family are die-hard Irish fans. Naturally I became one as well, and I remember Saturday mornings with the family quite clearly. As I grew older I began to see and understand more about what it took to broadcast a live sports game, and I became quite intrigued by it. I decided I wanted to be involved with sports for the rest of my life and cover it in some form. One of the sports commentators I look up to greatly and have always liked is NBC sports reporter Bob Costas, who is a jack of all trades broadcaster and covers all sports from the Olympics to football and many more. I aspire to be a broadcast journalist someday, and the Chimes is an excellent way to hone my skills and continue to practice writing and talking about sports. I look forward to my growth while working with the Chimes in reporting accurately and quickly, and cannot wait to cover Biola sports.

Andi Basista, News Editor

Andi Basista is a senior journalism major who loves basketball, underground music and is highly appreciative of a good beach day. [email protected] Originally from a small farm town in Ohio, I have put aside my corn shucking gloves to embrace a new life in the Angel City to study sports journalism. It is true what they say about culture shock and LA traffic. I am used to being late to work because of getting stuck behind a John Deere tractor, but now it is because of gridlock on the I5. However, I have quickly adjusted to the city life and haven’t looked back since. I moved from the midwest out to Los Angeles over two years ago. Since then my life has changed in big ways. I have learned the importance of pursuing my dreams in order to make them a reality. Sports have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. From the time I was able to stand up on my own, there was always a ball in my hand. Basketball quickly became my MO. I was involved in multiple athletic organizations, traveling on AAU teams and playing my way through my middle and high school league. My passion for the sport is what inspired me to pursue a career in sports journalism. Being at a place like Biola that has an abundance of opportunities has allowed me to expand from my small-town roots, and that is something I am truly thankful for.

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Men’s Cross Country wins Biola’s first PacWest championship

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