On Saturday, Oct. 22 the top cross country programs from the west gathered in Washington state to compete in the pre-nationals. Biola dazzled as they finished in the top seven for both their men’s and women’s programs, creating promise for a bright future down the line.

WOMEN FINISH THIRD

The Biola women’s team finished third behind Colorado School of Mines and Western Colorado University. The impressive women’s team were one of only two teams to have five scorers in the top 40 and all seven in the top 45. Their final total of 151 secured their third-place finish. Sophomore Lynette Ruiz led Biola’s squad, finishing 21st at 21:45.3. Three first-year students followed Ruiz: Bethany Mapes, Maggie Wiliams and Ellie Stetina who finished 26th, 37th and 39th respectively. 

MEN FINISH SEVENTH

The Biola men’s team finished seventh in the race and seven runners finished in the top 100. Graduate student Benjamin White continues to impress this year, finishing 18th with a 24:20.6 time. Sophomores Jerry Baltzer and Aidan Tomansini followed White, finishing 41st at 24:59.0 and 54th at 25:09.3 respectively. Notably, sophomore Ryan Todd posted a personal best for the fourth straight game, finishing 58th place at 25:13.4. 

Up next, Biola sets their sights on the PacWest championship on Saturday, Nov. 5. Stats from the match can be found on the Biola Athletics website.