California Baptist University
WAC Track Championships
CBU Open WAC Track Meet With Championship Run, Three Other All-Conference Finishes
5/13/2021 8:37:00 PM | Cross Country & Track
EDINBURG — A championship run and three other all-conference finishes opened the Western Athletic Conference Track Championships with a bang for California Baptist University on Thursday night.
The Lancers began the week with the 10,000 meter at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Soccer & Track and Field Complex. Ivo Balabanov won the men's event in a stadium record time, while Anna Mate secured All-WAC First-Team honors and Manuel Peris Bruno and McMarshal Hartzenberg locked up all-conference, second-team finishes.
It puts CBU's men in fourth place after day one with 20 points. Grand Canyon leads with 63, while Utah Valley (35) and UTRGV (28) are not far off in second and third. The Lancers' women are in sixth place with seven points, behind GCU (38), NM State (33), Utah Valley (11) and Seattle U (10).
🥇🥇🥇
— CBU XC & Track (@CBUXCTF) May 14, 2021
Ivo Balabanov wins the 2021 @WACsports championship in the 10,000 meter❗️ He takes it in a stadium record time of 30:41.78.#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/CT4S2g30qf
Balabanov led an army of nine Lancers on the men's side, as he took first place in 30 minutes, 41.78 seconds. It shattered the stadium record of 31:10.60 set by Utah Valley's Jason Lynch in 2017 and was good for a near one-second cushion over Tyson Green (30:42.58), the runner-up from UVU.
It was a three-man race for the gold late, with UTRGV's Abraham Chirchir (third, 30:47.51) in the mix, as well. Balabanov stayed with the lead pack but was content to let someone else lead until late.
The trio shifted into another gear over the final two laps and Green attempted to pull away from the group over the final lap. Balabanov stayed right on his heels right up until the final straightaway where he left Green in his dust for the title.
Ivo Balabanov would NOT be denied 🔥#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/mS2dlZF5CL
— CBU XC & Track (@CBUXCTF) May 14, 2021
Bruno (fifth, 31:23.42) and Hartzenberg (sixth, 31:30.89) both earned All-WAC Second-Team honors by virtue of their top-six finishes in the race.
🏅 𝗔𝗟𝗟-𝗪𝗔𝗖 𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 🏅
— CBU XC & Track (@CBUXCTF) May 14, 2021
Manuel Peris Bruno and McMarshal Hartzenberg earn all-conference second-team honors with top-six finishes in the 10K. Bruno took fifth in 31:23.42, while Hartzenberg finished sixth in 31:30.89.#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/eJtXQOZsr9
CBU finished in a pack to sweep sixth through ninth place, with Luis Chavez (31:33.45), Zlatko Kozuhar (31:52.10) and Roman Zozulia (32:05.81) rounding out the top nine. Arturs Medveds (32:11.22), Tyler Tickner (32:11.86) and Cameron Hylton (32:31.05) took 11th, 12th and 14th, respectively.
🏅 𝗔𝗟𝗟-𝗪𝗔𝗖 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗦𝗧 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 🏅
— CBU XC & Track (@CBUXCTF) May 14, 2021
Anna Mate takes third place for an All-Conference First-Team finish in the 10K. She clocks a 37:01.43 and improves on her fourth-place finish in the event from 2019. #LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/35SkPFQd3g
Mate well outperformed her sixth seed on the women's side, as she took third place for all-conference first-team recognition in 37:01.42. She kept up with the lead pack for most of the race and improved on her fourth-place finish in the event in 2019.
The Lancers got three more top-10 finishes from Paige Haynes (eighth, 38:46.33); Cynthia Martin (ninth, 39:08.07) and Rachel Gee (39:22.07).
CBU is back in action at the WAC Championships on Friday with the women's 800 meter and steeplechase. The 800 is set to begin first at 4 p.m. Pacific. The event is being streamed live on the WAC Digital Network, with live results available at MileSplit.
Players Mentioned
