California Baptist University
Nuttycombe Invite
CBU Shows Well in Loaded Nuttycombe Invitational Field
10/17/2025 11:17:00 AM | Cross Country & Track
MADISON, WI--- The California Baptist University cross-country team traveled to Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday afternoon to compete in one of the most prestigious non-championship races of the season in the Nuttycombe Invite.
The Lancers faced chilly conditions and some of the best competition in the NCAA in the races and would continue their stellar year with solid performances in both the men's and women's contests.
The race day kicked off for the Lancers in the Women's 6K as CBU faced off against 18 ranked squads in one of the most loaded fields of the year. Among the ranked schools were #2 NC State, #7 Notre Dame, and #5 New Mexico, along with a plethora of other notable programs. CBU held its own in the race, finishing 20th in the 30-team race ahead of Michigan, Harvard, Minnesota, and #28 Providence.
Helena Mees continued her incredible sophomore campaign by being the first Lancer across the finish line in 46th place with a time of 20:34.1. That time would blow away her previous personal best by over a minute, which she set at the Roy Griak Invitational. Not far behind her was Sarah Schifffman in 58th place at a time of 20:45.7, while Mahaut Cooren, Ceyda Pinar, and Ava Dyck all finished in the top 125 to round out the Lancer scoring.
The men would conclude the day in an equally loaded 8K field that featured four of the top six-ranked teams in the country and 18 total ranked teams. CBU came into the race ranked 15th in the NCAA standings and would put together another solid showing in a challenging environment. The Lancers would finish 11th in the field, beating out #17 Tulane, #18 Stanford, #1 Iowa State, and #28 Harvard.
Valentin Soca made his season debut in the race after competing on the world stage just over a month ago at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. Soca is one of the top-ranked individuals in the country, and he kicked off his season with a seventh-place finish in the race with a time of 23:30.1. Ernesto Ruiz would also submit an incredible performance, finishing 53rd with a time of 23:58.2. The time for Ruiz was a new personal best, knocking four seconds off his previous best that he set at the UCR Invite in 2024. Victor Rosas, Finn Anspach, and Gabriel Guzman would all collect top 100 times for Sean Smith's squad to finish with a final score of 322.
NEXT: The Lancers will compete locally in the Highlander Invitational on Saturday, October 18.
Players Mentioned
