California Baptist University
Pre-Nationals
CBU Men Place 9th in Stacked Pre-Nationals Field while Women Earn Top 10 Finish in the B Race
10/19/2024 4:29:00 PM | Cross Country & Track
MADISON, WI--- In the most important race of the regular season, the California Baptist University cross-country men's team showed out, with the men posting a 9th place finish at the NCAA Pre-Nationals. The women had a handful of promising individual performances and would garner a 10th-place finish in the B Race.
CBU's men kicked off the day for the Lancers in the Men's 8K A Race in the chilly Madison air. The men faced a daunting field, with 18 of the top 30 programs in the nation present at Zimmerman Championship Course. Of those 18, six were in the top 10, and 13 checked in ahead of the Lancers in the most recent national poll. The men began steady, with the team crossing the markers in 13th at the 4000M mark. CBU made its push in the final 2000 meters, passing Furman, Colorado, and Utah State, to earn 9th place. CBU scored 312 points as a unit, coming in just behind Syracuse and Notre Dame in the standings. #3 Arkansas would be the eventual winner in Madison, with #4 Iowa State and #9 Stanford earning podium finishes. CBU finished ahead of six programs that were previously ranked ahead of them, including #16 Colorado, #15 Eastern Kentucky, and #13 Washington.
"The men came out here with a chip on their shoulder," said Head Coach Sean Smith. "Honestly, we did not even have a perfect day. There were a couple of things to clean up, but this field was as deep as it's ever been, with nearly all of the top 30 teams present, so placing ninth was an excellent sign. The future is bright for this group, and now we will get back to work in the next five weeks to prepare for a deep postseason run."
Zouhair Redouane and Valentin Soca continued their stupendous season, both placing in the top 20 of the field. Redouane finished tenth ahead of a handful of returning All-Americans in the field. Redouane's time of 23:06.2 was the second-best time of his young career in the 8K. Soca was the next runner to cross the checkered line for CBU in 16th with a time of 23:10.4.
"Zouhair was only a couple of seconds off the course record, and Valentin was just a tad off of that. Just an unreal run from both of them" said Coach Smith of Soca and Redouane. "Zouhair has just been so impressive as a true freshman."
Daniel Abdala and Adam Trefecanty were equally impressive for the Lancers, posting top-75 finishes for CBU. Abdala and Trefecanty both jumped 30 spots in the final 2000 meters for the Lancers to help CBU to its top 10 finish. Abdala's time of 23:41.1 was his second fastest time and helped him place 68th. Trefecanty crossed the line in 71st with a time of 23:42.1. The rest of the Lancer runners all crossed in the top 200 to help CBU to its 9th place finish.
The women closed the afternoon for the Lancers in the Women's 6K B Race. CBU went up against solid programs like Ohio State, Washington State, and Auburn in the 213-runner field. Ava Dyck continued her impressive freshman campaign by being the first Lancers across the line in 14th place at a time of 20:52.1. Yasna Petrova, Karolina Bliujute, and Sini-Sofia Rajaniemi all put together top-75 finishes to help CBU earn 310 points as a unit. The Lancers came in ten points behind South Dakota State and 37 ahead of Quinnipiac.
HIGHLANDER CLASSIC:
A handful of Lancer runners competed at the Highlander Classic on Saturday morning at UC Riverside. On the men's side, Gabriel Guzman placed 13th in the 259-runner field with a time of 24:30.5. On the women's side, Lamiae Mamouni, who was running unattached for CBU, crossed the line in 7th with a time of 21:00.3. The Lancers had three more runners in the top 75, paced by Petra Sara Kiss who finished 52nd with a time of 22:20.5.
NEXT: The Lancers will begin their championship season, kicking off with the WAC Championships on Nov. 1 in Orem, Utah.
Players Mentioned
