California Baptist University
NCAA National Championships
Cross Country Brings Home a Pair of Top 20 Finishes at Nationals in Virginia
11/18/2023 10:28:00 AM | Cross Country & Track
EARLYSVILLE, VA--- The California Baptist University cross-country team ran both teams in the NCAA National Championship Race for the first time in program history. In 2022, it was just the women who competed in the Nationals, placing 29th. The teams earned impressive finishes, with the women placing 17th and the men crossing the line in 16th.
The day began with the women's 6K as the Lancers ran Greta Karinauskaite, Yasna Petrova, Maja Dzialoszewska, Abir Reffas, Marina Trave, Emilia Mikszuta, and Lamiae Mamouni. The Lancers stayed patient through the first 2,000 meters, with no Lancers breaking away from the large group.
Karinauskiate broke into the top 20th at the halfway point of the course and stayed consistent and steady through the back half of the course. She went back-and-forth in the 16th and 17th position before crossing the line in 16th at 19:39.4. 16th place for Greta was good enough for an All-American finish, the first in the program's history and Karinauskaite's first in the cross-country season.
Behind Greta was the Lancers' top finisher from a season ago, Yasna Petrova. Petrova finished 77th in last year's race and jumped 32 spots to claim 45th in this year's race. Petrova crossed the line at 20:08.2, the fourth-best performance of her career. Emilia Mikszuta rounded out the top three CBU finishers, crossing the line at 121st. Marina Trave and Abir Reffas both helped the team score with 157th and 179th place finishes.
The women entered the race as the 21st-ranked program and outdid the ranking by four spots. The Lancers outperformed #6 Georgetown, #17 Colorado, #16 Iowa State, and #18 Wisconsin, all ranking higher in the pre-race rankings. The women finish an incredible cross-country season, winning the Roy Griak Invitational and earning a 5th place West Regional finish.
"The women did a super job," remarked Head Coach Adam Tribble. "I think we have had now about ten different girls in our top five for the year, and they did a tremendous job of rallying now when it mattered the most."
Karinauskaite was the Western Athletic Conference Athlete of the Year and the second-place finisher at the West Regionals. She now adds an All-American to her impressive and lengthy resume.
The men's 10K wrapped the day as the men ran Arturs Medveds, Giedrius Valincius, Rikus Van Niekerk, Pedro Marin, Joaquin Campos, Roman Zozulia, Matias Reynaga, and Valentin Soca. The men finished 16th, led by three top 100 finishers.
Medveds, as he has all season long, paced the group and earned a 52nd-place finish. Medveds and the men's team started very conservatively and made a push over the final 4,000 meters of the race. Medveds jumped 32 spots over a 3,000-meter stretch and went from 96th to 52nd to earn the men's top placer. Soca and Valincius both earned top 100 finishes to aid the Lancers team score in 86th and 96th, respectively. The final two scorers for CBU would be Matias Reynaga (140th) and Joaquin Campos (145th).
CBU outperformed Tennessee, Butler, Villanova, and New Mexico in the race, all of which were projected to place higher than the Lancers.
The 16-place finish is the culmination of an incredible cross-country season for the men, a season in which they reached as high as fourth in the national polls and topped the West Region for multiple weeks. The men won the WAC Championships for the fourth consecutive season, bringing home a fourth-place finish at the prestigious Nuttycombe Invitational.
"The men had a rough tangle up at about 200 meters, with three guys going down, and that obviously put us in a rough spot. That being said, the guys showed tremendous heart in rallying from 30th to 16th over the race," said Tribble.
Medveds took home an Individual Championship at the WAC Championships, and an All-Region finish in Sacramento to round out one of the best individual seasons in program history. Medveds earned three top-ten finishes on the season and was named the WAC Athlete of the Year.
Both teams showed tremendous perseverance and toughness on the sport's biggest stage, a fact not lost on Head Coach Adam Tribble.
"It was a tremendous season for both teams, and I am so happy for them and all the progress they have made this season."
Players Mentioned
