Both Biola men’s and women’s cross country teams impressed at an invitational on Sept. 8. Considering they planned to run at a controlled pace, the results proved Biola is poised to finish at the top of their conference. Going into the season the men’s team was ranked 3rd in the PacWest Conference, as picked by conference coaches, while the women’s team was ranked 1st. The results of the meet supported these preseason predictions as both teams beat their PacWest competitors. 

In the 5K race the Biola women’s team took first with six athletes in the top 10 as redshirt junior Britta Holmberg placed 4th with a time of 18:08 followed by Lynette Ruiz in 5th, Hailey Wurzbach in 7th, Lolo Landrith in 9th and finally Karis Brown in 10th. The team’s focus on staying together at a controlled pace helped multiple team members place in the top 10.

In the 8K, the men’s team finished second overall with redshirt junior Jerry Baltzer leading the way in 9th with a time of 25:39. Three of his teammates followed close behind as Aidian Tomasini had a time of 25:40.8, Charlie Bailey with 25:41.8 and Ryan Todd with 25:42.1 coming in 10th, 11th and 12th respectively. With both teams finishing strong even while slowing things down and not being as intentional about placing well, the results are more than promising. Biola will compete in Santa Clarita, California on Sept. 23 in a meet hosted by The Master’s College.