California Baptist University
Western Athletic Conference Championships
CBU Travels to Kansas City to Make A Run at WAC XC Titles
10/31/2019 3:51:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country, Cross Country, Cross Country & Track
RIVERSIDE – The California Baptist cross country teams have unquestionably had a stellar year, with the women winning three of their four-team meets this season, and the men placing fourth or better in all of theirs.
But for an institution that is still transitioning into becoming a full Division I member school, the true prize is the conference championship, a very attainable goal for each team this season.
"We're excited! It's been a good season so far, and we're very much looking forward to this weekend." Head Coach Adam Tribble said, adding the key to this weekend is to, "Be who we are and do what we've been doing. Both teams have made good progress, and we just need to continue to do and to be what we have been."
The women won the team title last season, scoring 33 total points in their inaugural race and come into this weekend's competition not only as the defending team champions but also as the conference coaches' pick as the team to beat. The Lancer women received six of the nine possible first-place votes in the pre-race poll.
In addition to the team victory, CBU also returns the individual winner from last year, senior AnettSomogyi, who finished over two-and-a-half seconds faster than the second-place runner, in a time of 20 minutes and 52 seconds flat.
Joining Somogyi in their title defense chase is the entire cast of scoring runners from a year ago. Sophomore KarolinaIznerowicz (third place overall), senior FruzsinaLadanyi (fifth place overall), sophomore Anna Matte (eighth place overall), and sophomore Emilie Renaud (16th place overall).
When asked if the women's side felt any additional pressure to repeat or live up to the bar set in the coaches poll, coach Tribble said, "I don't think there's any more or less pressure-we just want to run our race and control the variables we can control."
Women's Championship Preview
Start Time: 9:00 a.m. (Pacific)
Race Distance: 6,000 meters
CBU Runners (9): Marta Afonso Lourenco, Elin Brink, Andrea Kolbeinsdottir, Karolina Iznerowicz, Fruzsi Ladanyi, Anna Mate, Emilie Renaud, Anett Somogyi, and Luz Karen Olivera (Cynthia Martin is alternate #1).
Defending WAC Champions (Championships Won): California Baptist University (1)
Regionally Ranked Teams (Region, Ranking): Utah Valley (Mountain, No. 12); UT Rio Grande Valley (South Central, No. 8); California Baptist (West, No. 5); Grand Canyon (West, No.12)
Nationally Ranked Teams: California Baptist, RV
Coaches Poll Pick: CBU
The men's team had an impressive showing at the same race last year, finishing fifth with a team score of 106. The Lancer men will return with just one of the five scoring runners from a year ago, Hector Peralta (27th place overall), but add a score of runners who have been successful thus far in the 2019 season.
In fact, the Lancers' regular-season success this year has forced the conference coaches to consider them the strongest challenger to last year's winners, Utah Valley. The Lancer men received three of eight possible first-place votes in the Coach's pre-race poll.
Adding to the men's surge in the eyes of the conference, coach Tribble believes the race itself is set up advantageously for many of the CBU runners. "The course is a 2,000-meter loop, so the women will run three loops and the men four. [It is set up] very similar to many European cross country races, so I think many of our athletes will enjoy the layout being as most of our team is from Europe."
Men's Championship Preview
Start Time: 8:00 a.m. (Pacific)
Race Distance: 8,000 meters
CBU Runners (9): McMarshal Hartzenberg, Cameron Hylton, Zlatko Kozuhar, Timothy Legemet, Arturs Medveds, Henrique Neves, Hector Peralta, Manuel Peris Bruno, Giedrius Valincius
Defending WAC Champions (Championships Won): Utah Valley (4)
Regionally Ranked Teams (Region, Ranking): Utah Valley (Mountain, No. 11); California Baptist (West, No. 8); UT Rio Grande Valley (South Central, No. 9)
Coaches Poll Pick: Utah Valley
Players Mentioned
