CBU Cross Country Teams Both Claim Top-Five Finishes In NCAA West Regional Race
11/11/2022 2:52:00 PM | Cross Country & Track
TACOMA – The men's and women's California Baptist University cross country teams have been building toward this NCAA postseason opportunity for four successful years. It paid off this morning with a pair of hard earned fifth-place finishes in the West Regional races. 𝗧𝗢𝗣-𝟱
Making their NCAA Postseason debut, the men and womens teams took fifth place in this morning's NCAA West Regional race! #LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/YnnM3csVk0
Many consider the West region to be the deepest in the country, with the top-30 polls listing six men's teams and four women's squads from the region entering the day.
Results mostly stuck to the regional ranking form as Stanford (76 points) and Oregon (96 points) earned the two automatic qualifying spots for the women's side. Washington (114 points), Oregon State (150 points), and CBU (150 points) rounded out the top-five teams. Stanford (45 points) and Gonzaga (92 points) earned the AQ bids for the West Region men, with Washington (105 points), Oregon (141 points), and California Baptist (145 points) rounding out the best-five of the day.
The women's side led things off with the early race. CBU improved its point standing through nearly each of the six intervals. They lived between fourth and seventh place all race long, kicking well at the end to fend off Boise State, who finished sixth, just one point behind the Lancers.
Yasna Petrova led the Lancer pack from start to finish, pacing as high as third during the race before finishing fifth overall. Newly minted WAC women's cross country Freshman of the Year Maelle Porcher was second for CBU, living in the top 25 for the majority of the race and finishing 26th overall.
Anna Mate (38th), Greta Karinauskaite (39th), and Maja Dzialoszewska (42nd) rounded out the CBU scoring in the race, reaching their total of 150 points. Oregon State also tallied 150 points but took fourth place based on having the higher finishing runner, Kaylee Mitchell, the West Regional individual champion.
The men's race was tight from wire to wire, with teams trading positions throughout. The Lancers ran in second for the early part of the race before the leaderboard shuffling caught up to them. Florian Le Pallec, Arturs Medveds, and Giedrius Valincius all led the squad at one point during the race, with Valincius finishing as the top man, claiming 14th place.
Le Pallec was not far behind in 19th, and Medveds crossed the line in 24th overall. Said Mechall (43rd) and Matias Reynaga (45th) completed the scoring for the Lancers.
With the automatic qualifying bids claimed on Friday by the top two finishing teams from each region, the field now awaits the announcement of the 13 programs that will receive at-large bids based on the selections of the NCAA DI Cross Country Subcommittee. That list of programs will be announced tomorrow afternoon, Saturday, November 12.
