Lancers Enter 2019 Ranked in D-I West Region
8/26/2019 11:15:00 AM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country, Cross Country & Track
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Strong recruiting classes have hopes high for both California Baptist University cross country teams heading into the year.
"We have so many new people in, and there's a great deal of talent spread across both sides," Coach Adam Tribble said. "Both teams on paper right now are light years ahead of last year."
The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) agreed with Tribble, as both Lancer teams appeared in the Preseason NCAA Division I West Region Rankings on Monday. The women will enter the season ranked eighth, while the men begin at No. 15.
A total of 17 newcomers have boosted the Lancers' depth for the 2019 season, which begins at Cal State Fullerton's Mark Covert Classic at Carbon Canyon Regional Park on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. CBU has the same six events scheduled from last year, with Minnesota's Roy Griak Invitational (Sept. 28) and Texas A&M's Arturo Barrios Invitational (Oct. 19), serving as big measuring sticks for both teams.
Both CBU teams won an event a season ago, with the women claiming the Western Athletic Conference Championship. The men won the UC Riverside Highlander Invite in October before taking fifth in the WAC.
"We should see much better teams throughout the course of our season, and hopefully we can collect some more wins along the way," Tribble said. "Hopefully both teams will be in a good position to contend for WAC titles this year."
CBU's women return eight individuals from 2018, including the reigning individual WAC champion Anett Somogyi, conference Freshman of the Year Karolina Iznerowicz and fellow All-WAC first-teamer Fruzsi Ladanyi. Sophomores Anna Mate and Emilie Renaud are both expected to improve upon their impressive collegiate debuts last year.
Andrea Kolbeinsdottir will begin her first competitive season for the Lancers after redshirting her true freshman campaign in 2018. Tribble expects her to be a top-three finisher on the team right away.
Given all the returning talent and that of the seven newcomers, Tribble's hopes are even higher for 2019. The second-year coach noted Marta Alfonso Lourenco, Elin Brink, Wiktoria Klebowska, Cynthia Martin, Paige Haynes, and Luz Karen Olivera should be immediate contributors in their first fall at CBU.
On the men's side, the Lancers return only five individuals from last fall, but Tribble believes the 10 newcomers are more than capable of replacing what was lost.
Tribble highlighted Timothy Legemet, Zlatko Kozuhar, Florian Le Pallec, Manuel Peris Bruno, Giedrius Valincius as individuals who should make immediate impacts for the Lancers this year.
Aris Valerio and Henrique Neves should add to CBU's depth, along with returners McMarshall Hartzenberg, Koby Ghadery, and Hector Peralta.
"Until you get going, you don't know exactly where they're going to be, but we should be much, much improved on the guy's side," Tribble said. "We have a good group of guys. They not only have talent, but they have desire. We have a bunch of guys who want to go out and accomplish something."
Players Mentioned
