Both men’s and women’s cross country teams competed in their final NCAA Division II invitational of the season at the University of California San Diego Triton invitational in La Jolla, Calif. on Oct. 7. Both teams used this invitational to improve their pacing for post season.

Men’s results

On the men’s side, the 8k race had a slower pace compared to the past races. Sophomore Leo Skellenger from California State University East Bay placed first with a time of 26:25.23.

Biola’s men’s team scored 90 points total in the 8k race and placed third in the invitational overall. Freshman Giovanni Orellana finished in eighth place on the individual leaderboard with a time of 27:00.19. Freshman Ryan St. Pierre finished in 18th with a time of 27:29.45. Just two spots behind St. Pierre, freshman Tanner Dutchover finished in 20th with a time of  27:31.49. Three Eagles followed closely behind each other after that, including junior Christian Perez who finished in 27th with a time of 28:03.61, senior Timothy Wilson who ranked 28th with a time of 28:05.36 and sophomore Gabe Plendcio who ranked 30th with a time of 28:05.42.

Women’s results

The women competed in the 6k race, which was about a minute slower compared to the previous 6k race the Eagles competed in at UC Riverside earlier this year. Senior Ella Verhees from UCSD finished in first with a time of 22:08.39.

The Eagle women’s team scored 95 points total in the 6k race and placed third. Senior Stephanie Croy led the way for the Eagles and finished in sixth with a time of 22:32.16. Freshman Mackenna Mason came in behind Croy and finished in seventh with a time of 22:32.36. Junior Emily Ransom finished in 23rd with a time of 23:18.72 and sophomore Amanda Reyes finished in 25th with a time of 23:23.13.

The next meet for the men’s and women’s cross country teams will be the PacWest Conference Championships hosted by Holy Names University at the Crystal Spring cross country course in Belmont, Calif. on Oct. 21.