Marin Leads CBU Men to Top-10 Finish at Pre-National Invitational

Friday, October 16

Terre Haute, IN

California Baptist University

Under Armour Pre-National Invitational

Final Results

Photo by: Will Carter

Marin Leads CBU Men to Top-10 Finish at Pre-National Invitational

10/16/2026 11:15:00 AM | Cross Country & Track

By: Will Carter, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications & Digital Media

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Lancers turned in a strong performance at the Under Armour Pre-National Invitational on Friday, highlighted by junior Pedro Marin's eighth-place finish to lead the men to a 10th-place team finish.

CBU competed against some of the top teams in the country, with the men facing six nationally ranked programs, including Syracuse and Notre Dame. The women's field featured seven ranked teams, including top-ranked NC State and No. 2 BYU.
The Lancer men placed 10th out of 44 teams, while the women finished 33rd out of 43 teams.

"Today showed us that we have all the pieces to be Big West champions and get back to the NCAA Championships, but we need strong performances from our entire group to make that happen," said head coach Sean Smith.

"Today's run was good, and I'm really proud of these men. I know there's more in there. If we can get a fifth runner to step up or have a couple of other guys have a normal or good day, we would have finished fourth today.
"We got some pretty critical wins. Our last-minute pivot to Pre-Nationals came after SFA and Tulane changed plans, and we needed to beat them, so getting both of them was huge. Arizona was another team we needed to beat at the regional level, and I think we're there with a normal day from a couple of our guys.

"Itumeleng showed us he's the real deal in his first real test, which was huge. Honestly, the race of the day probably came from Manuel Rojas. Him stepping up like that was huge. We knew that performance was in there all along, so it was good to see him show it. We just need one more. Our top three were very dominant, and they're going to be the anchor that carries our team at the regional level. If we get to nationals, we're a top-20 team."

In the men's 8K, which featured 339 runners, Marin crossed the finish line in 23:25.0 to place eighth, finishing just eight seconds behind the race winner. He improved by more than 20 seconds on his previous time at the same course in September and finished just 12 seconds shy of his personal best.

Sophomore Yemane Mulugeta was the second Lancer to finish, placing 24th in 23:41.4 to record a personal best. He improved by 35 seconds on his previous time at the course. Junior Itumeleng Ngxabazi followed in 36th place with a personal-best time of 23:49.5.

Junior Manuel Rojas also recorded a personal best, finishing in 24:07.1 as the fourth Lancer across the line. He shaved six seconds off his previous personal best and improved by 80 seconds on his previous time at the course in September.

Sophomores Nicolai Martino and Lorenzo Riba followed with times of 24:36.8 and 24:43.1, respectively. Junior Gabriel Guzman crossed in 24:59.5, while sophomore Aiden Aldana rounded out the Lancers' finishers in 25:17.1.

On the women's side, junior Helena Mees once again led the Lancers, finishing the 6K in 20:41.4 among 322 runners. Her time was 51 seconds faster than her previous mark on the course in September. Junior Keely Bradle followed in 21:17.8, finishing just 12 seconds off her personal best and improving by 31 seconds on her previous course time.

Fellow junior Karolina Bliujute crossed in 21:36.3, 15 seconds faster than her September time, while freshman Arielle Avina followed closely in 21:42.4 to record a personal best.

Junior Ana Mees finished next in 21:46.3, followed by senior Lamiae Mamouni in 22:08.0 and junior Eleonora Visnevskyte in 22:09.2. Sophomore Kaitlyn Reyes rounded out the Lancers' finishers in 22:27.9.

Full results for the meet can be viewed HERE.

Following Friday's competition, the Lancers who competed in Terre Haute will return to Riverside to support their teammates at the Highlander Invitational on Saturday. The meet begins at 8 a.m. with the men's 8k at the Agriculture Operations Course.