California Baptist University
Pacific West Conference
Oops, They Did It Again
10/24/2015 7:08:00 PM | Women's Cross Country, Cross Country, Cross Country & Track
RIVERSIDE, Calif . - After winning the PacWest title its first year in the conference, California Baptist University didn't win its second until last year. The Lancers defended their crown with honor Saturday morning, however, taking the team championship with a low 44 points -22 points less than second place Azusa Pacific.
"Going into his race, we thought we could score about 40 points for this race and that is exactly what we did," head coach Ben Gall said. "We had some girls really run well and I am really excited for them."
The Lancers accounted for many of the top finishers, with seven grabbing all-conference honors. Caroline Barkechir led the pack with a second-place finish, clocking in at 21 minutes, 21:99.
"It was a really tough race, I kicked really hard at the end to finish strong," Barkechir said. "Our strength as a team comes from unity and trust within each other and it encouraged me throughout the race."
Berenice Cleyet-Merle and Claire Rainey also placed in the top-10, with Cleyet-Merle joining Barkechir on the All-PacWest first team by taking sixth overall. Cleyet-Merle crossed the finish line at 21:43.10, followed by Rainey at 21:54.83. Freshman Emeline Delanis came in shortly after Rainey, taking 11th with a time of 22:01.91. The duo (Rainey and Delanis) grabbed all-conference second team honors with their times.
Kim Rabenstein (22:23.02, 16th), Katie Deimling (22:23.86, 17th), and Alana Enabnit (22:32.84, 20th) rounded off the top-seven scorers for the Lancers, showing the depth of CBU.
The fighting spirit of the team was collectively shown in the last lap of the race as multiple Lancers overcame difficult battles against opponents for top-20 places. Cleyet-Merle climbed three spots, goingfrom ninthto finishin sixth. Enabnit followed suit by beating out a Dixie State runner by five-tenths of second for 20th spot.
CBU now prepares for the NCAA West Regional event which will take place on Nov. 7 in Monmouth, Ore.
"Our women are poised to make a run at the regional title this year," Gall said. "They're locked in on that goal, it's an uphill battle, but I believe that we can achieve these goals."
Players Mentioned
