California Baptist University
WAC Outdoor Track Championships
Petra Kis Brings Home Women's 1500M Title on Championship Saturday
5/16/2026 7:17:00 PM | Cross Country & Track
ARLINGTON, TX--- The California Baptist University track team concluded its final WAC OTF Championships on Saturday evening as they secured their third individual champion of the weekend and eight more All-WAC finishers.
Championship Saturday began with the 1500's as the women would kick it off with four runners in the finals. CBU would carry its momentum from the previous days, when it crowned two individual champions, and would win another in this race. Petra Kis would bring home the title for Sean Smith's squad with a photo finish. Kis would use a final leg kick to position herself in the middle of a six-runner pack and then eventually would inch to the front of the pack to win the race and the title. Kis would post a time of 4:31.07, edging out second place by 0.12 seconds.
Helena Mees would also find herself on the podium with an equally tight finish in the third spot. Mees would win by .01 seconds over Southern Utah's Aspen Hacker to medal in the event in third place and earn First-Team All-WAC. Sarah Schiffman would also get on the podium with a sixth-place finish with a time of 4:34.11 to claim second-team honors.
The men's heat would go off next, with four more Lancers competing in the field. Ernesto Ruiz, fresh off his steeplechase crown on Friday night, would lead CBU in the 1500 with a fifth-place finish at 3:50.94. Finn Anspach would add another All-WAC second team honor to his resume as he would place eighth in the heat. Brett Rushman would finish one spot off the podium in ninth, while Lorenzo Riba finished 12th.
The evening would shift to the 5K Finals, as the large field would be condensed by a handful of scratches in both heats for the Lancers. In the women's race, four Lancers would take to the track, led by Ava Dyck, who would look to defend her crown from a season ago. Dyck would manage a fourth-place finish in a fast field. Dyck would go 17:06.94 for the second-team All-WAC placement. Ceyda Pinar would miss the podium by one spot in ninth, while Abby Biber and Alexis Noble would both get in the top 20.
On the men's side, CBU would have nine runners in the 28-person race. Victor Rosas led the way for the Lancers by medalling in third place with a time of 14:47.13, falling two seconds shy of the first-place winner. Rushman would get on the podium with a brilliant final close, placing fifth at 14:49.12. Manuel Rojas and Gabriel Guzman would both get in the top 12 for CBU, while Carsten Williams, Dylan Flores, and Jacob Orta would round out the runners for Sean Smith's team.
Overall, the Lancers would have 17 All-WAC finishers on the weekend and would have three individual champions, the most on both accounts since 2023. In the team score, the men had the most points since 2022, with 52, while the women scored 29.
NEXT: A handful of Lancers will gear up for the NCAA West Regionals in Fayetteville, Arkansas, beginning on Wednesday, May 27.
