California Baptist University
Aztec Coastal Classic
XC Preview: CBU Cross Country Kicks off 2025 Season at the Aztec Coastal Classic
8/26/2025 2:00:00 PM | Cross Country & Track
RIVERSIDE--- The 2025 cross-country season kicks off this weekend as California Baptist University opens its season at the Aztec Coastal Classic on Friday afternoon.
The Lancers are building off an incredible 2024 campaign in which their men's team placed 13th at Nationals, the best finish in program history. This time around the men garnered significant buzz resulting in the highest preseason ranking in program history at #15.
Head Coach Sean Smith will be entering his second full year at the helm of the program, and he returns a solid core of his men's and women's teams while integrating several big names from the portal and elsewhere. On the men's side, 3x All-American Valentin Soca will be back for his third cross-country campaign alongside several other faces that competed at the 2024 Nationals, like Pedro Marin, Gabriel Guzman, and Victor Rosas. Joining the team this season will be 2025 5K NAIA National Champion Jude Devries, who transferred in from The Master's College, Finn Anspach, who was an All-WAC competitor during outdoor season for CBU, and Coach Smith's former pupil, Eric Perez, from Azusa Pacific, among a bevy of other solid names.
On the women's side, Ava Dyck returns after putting together an incredible freshman season in which she was All-Region during cross-country and was the 5K WAC champion during outdoor season. The Canadian native will be joined by a handful of other solid sophomores like Karolina Bliujute and Ceyda Pinar, who came into their own toward the back half of last season. The Lancers will also welcome back Emilia Mikszuta, who spent the first three seasons of her career in Riverside before heading to Ole Miss last year. Mikszuta was a top 30 finisher at West Regionals the last time she donned the blue and gold, and now she will be back as one of the team's senior leaders. Other big names for the women include Ole Miss transfer Sarah Schiffmann and Lindsie Fausett, the 10K NJCAA National Champion.
The Lancers will have five non-championship races to start their season, including competing in the Roy Griak Invitational in mid-September and the Nuttycombe Invitational in mid-October. Postseason competition will begin on October 31 at the 2025 WAC Conference Championship in Arlington, Texas, before shifting gears to the West Regionals in Sacramento, CA, and the NCAA Championship in Columbia, MO.
NEXT: The Lancers begin their season at the Aztec Coastal Classic hosted by San Diego State on Friday, August 29, at 4:20 PM PT.
Players Mentioned
