California Baptist University
NCAA Cross-Country Championships
Men's Cross-Country Brings Home Two All-Americans and Best Team Finish in Program History at Nationals
11/23/2024 9:32:00 AM | Cross Country & Track
MADISON--- The California Baptist University men's cross-country concluded an incredible season with a 13th-place finish at the DI National Championships in Madison, WI, and earning the first two All-Americans in program history.
CBU entered the race as the #19 team in a loaded field that featured some of the top runners in the race's history. The Lancers outperformed six teams that were ranked ahead of them, including #15 Oregon, #12 Washington, #8 Alabama, and #11 Virginia, to capture 13th. CBU finished 16th a season ago in the program's first-ever trip to the big dance and now has improved that by three spots in 2024.
Zouhair Redouane and Valentin Soca were the stories of the day as they brought home the first All-Americans in the history of the program on the men's side. Redouane and Soca were the top runners for CBU all season long and validated that status with top 40 finishes in the race. Redouane and Soca worked together through 6K before being slightly separated by a couple of runners past the 7K mark. Redouane made a significant push over the final 3K of the race, jumping 19 spots to earn his All-American status in 26th place at 29:18.8. The time was .06 seconds behind his personal best that he set at the West Regionals a week ago. Soca also made significant strides in the final 3K of the race, jumping 20 spots from 53rd to 33rd. Soca's finishing time of 29:22.0 is the third-best time of his career and improved 53 spots from his performance at Nationals a year ago.
"Zouhair and Valentin leading the way was the huge statement we needed up front today," said Head Coach Sean Smith. "Zouhair bouncing back after regionals says a lot about his character and mindset; he is a true gamer. Valentin was running alongside Zouhair all race along and used his experience on this stage to lead. Really loved seeing that type of leadership from Valentin, and he was awarded his first All-American."
CBU's 13th team finish was a group effort, with six of CBU's runners earning top 200 finishes. Daniel Abdala's incredible season as CBU's third runner continued as he squeezed into the top 100 in the final stretch of the race. Abdala placed 95th with a time of 29:52.8. Abdala's final push was a huge contributor to CBU's final team score, and his teammate Pedro Marin was also impressive over the backstretch by jumping into 115th place. Marin and Abdala jumped a combined 47 pots over the final 2k of the course to improve CBU's team points. Gabriel Guzman and Adam Trafecanty both crossed the line in the top 200, while Victor Rosas concluded the group in 225th.
"Man, I am just so proud of these guys. We talked a lot about fighting for each other and the importance of digging as deep as you possibly can. We went into the race with a mindset that was ready for battle. God has been really good to this team and I am so thankful to get to coach this group. We felt the whole CBU community out there today," said Coach Smith.
Players Mentioned
