Cross Country Strides Into 2014 Season
9/3/2014 7:34:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country, Cross Country, Cross Country & Track
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Both California Baptist University's cross country teams open the season ranked both regionally and nationally, with the women taking the No. 2 spot in the West Region and the men standing fifth.
With the USTFCCCA preseason poll release Wednesday, CBU's men will begin the season with a No. 25 ranking in all of NCAA Division II. Joining the men in the rankings, the Lancer women open season in the No. 11 spot in NCAA Division II.
Last year, the men's cross country team won its third-straight PacWest Conference title before advancing to the postseason. The Lancers finished the 2013 season with a fifth-place placing at the West Region meet to move on to the championship, where they took 22nd.
On the women's side, CBU ended 2013 with its third-straight, top-three finish in the PacWest. The Lancers advanced to the West Region meet, where they took ninth.
Both CBU teams begin the 2014 campaign at home with the Lancer Invitational this Saturday, Sept. 6, at 9 a.m. The women's race is a 4-kilometer distance and begins at 9 a.m., while the men's race is a 6-kilometer distance and begins at 9:30 a.m. Rancho Jurupa Park (4800 Crestmore Road) in Riverside plays host to the race, featuring teams from both NCAA and NAIA.
Registered so far for this match include both men's and women's teams from Academy of Art, CBU, Concordia (Irvine), Providence Christian, San Diego Christian, UC San Diego and San Bernardino Valley (men only).
"We are very excited to host the meet," said head coach Ben Gall. "The men will be facing two other teams ranked in the top 10 in the region--No. 4-ranked UCSD and No. 10-ranked Academy of Art. The women face one other top team in the region in No. 6-ranked UCSD."
Looking to start the season off on a high note, three male newcomers hope to make an impression right away in their Lancer debuts.
"Valentin Robert and Abdel El-Hajjam, two transfers from France, and Elliot Choe, a freshman from Burbank HS, have been looking good and should contribute to our men's team's success on Saturday," assistant coach Sean Henning said.
Already making an impression with a No. 11 national ranking, the CBU women welcome 12 newcomers to the squad who can contribute right away.
"Ester Mueller, a transfer from Germany, has been looking really good at practice," Henning said. "We also have about six freshmen girls who could all do very well and help our team this Saturday."
Last year the CBU men won the invitational and hope to repeat the feat before both Lancer squads move on to the UC Riverside Invitational on Sept. 13 in Riverside.
Complete Preseason Division II Regional Team RankingsComplete NCAA Division II National Coaches Poll
