California Baptist University
Payton Jordan Invite
CBU Adds Several More PR's in Final Weekend of Regular Season in Palo Alto and Irvine
5/2/2026 12:27:00 AM | Cross Country & Track
PALO ALTO, CA/IRVINE: The California Baptist University track team closed its non-championship season on Friday as they competed at the Payton Jordan and Steve Scott Invitationals.
Payton Jordan Invite:
The majority of the Lancer track squad ventured back to Palo Alto, CA, as they competed in the prestigious Payton Jordan Invite on the campus of Stanford University.
The day would start with a handful of 1500's with Petra Kis kicking off the evening with a time of 4:38.35. Lorenzo Riba started the day for the guys in the third heat of the 1500 and placed third with a time of 3:48.23, which was a new PR, while Roberto Castro Lara placed 6th. Nicolai Martino's impressive freshman campaign continued with an incredible steeplechase run in the second heat of the event. Martino would dip below nine minutes with a new personal best time of 8:57.45 to win the heat by over ten seconds.
The 5K's were next up on deck with three Lancers competing in the third heat of the women's section. Karolina Bliujute paced the CBU group with a sub-17-minute time at 16:53.72 to place third in the heat. Ana Mees came in not too far behind her teammate in fourth place, while Eleonara Visnevskyte placed 5th. In the second fastest section of the women's 5K, Helena Mees continued her incredible sophomore season with a top-five finish in the heat and a new personal best time of 16:08.41. Mahaut Cooren finished in 7th while Ceyda Pinar topped her personal best by over 13 seconds at 16:27.16 to come in 12th.
One of the most exciting races of the evening came in the second section of the men's 5K as Ernesto Ruiz, Jude DeVries, and Victor Rosas all suited up for CBU. The trio would all place in the top 12 in the loaded field and would all set new personal best times. Ruiz had the best time of the group at 13:47.70, topping his previous best time by nearly 11 seconds. DeVries also bested his previous top time by double digits at 13:48.07, while Rosas sneaked over his previous PB by three seconds at 13:48.40.
The evening would conclude with a pair of solid 10K runs as Ava Dyck and Brett Rushman competed solo in their respective sections. Dyck would set a new personal best by nearly 18 seconds, dipping under 34 minutes at 34:09.41. The time would be the 9th fastest in program history. Rushman would have an equally impressive run in the men's section, clocking 28:55.01, which will put him in the running for a potential regional qualifier.
Steve Scott Invitational:
A small contingent of Lancers stayed back in Southern California to compete in Irvine, CA, in a handful of distance events at the Steve Scott Invitational.
Jude Enriquez kicked off the evening in his steeplechase debut and would place third in his heat with a time of 9:16.30. Kevin Sandoval would bring home a heat win for the Lancers in the men's 800m with a time of 1:54.63. Abby Biber would have an impressive evening, setting a new personal best by nearly 30 seconds at 17:08.67 and would finish in third place.
Alexis Noble and Carsten Williams would close the evening with heat victories in their respective 1500-meter invite races. Noble would clock in with a time of 4:40.53 to win her section by a little over two seconds, while Williams would win the men's section by 0.3 seconds with a time of 3:59.41.
NEXT: The Lancers will shift their eyes toward the postseason as the program's final run at the Western Athletic Conference Outdoor Track Championships opens up on Thursday, May 14, in Arlington, TX.
Players Mentioned
