XC Preview: Lancers Split Squad for John McNichols, UCR Invitationals

Saturday, September 19

Riverside, CA

7:15 am- Women's 6k, 7:50 am- Men's 8k

California Baptist University

UCR Invite

XC Preview: Lancers Split Squad for John McNichols, UCR Invitationals

9/17/2026 1:40:00 PM | Cross Country & Track

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

RIVERSIDE – CBU cross country returns to action Saturday as the Lancers split their squad between two invitationals, with the top 10 men and women heading to Terre Haute, Indiana, for the John McNichols Invitational and the remainder of the squad competing locally at the UCR Invitational.

Live updates from both races will be provided on social media.

John McNichols Invitational
Meet: John McNichols Invitational (hosted by Indiana State University)
Date: Saturday, September 19th
Time:
Women's 6k Championship – 5:30 A.M. PT; Men's 8k Championship – 6:05 A.M. PT
Women's 6k Open – 6:40 A.M. PT; Men's 8k Open – 7:15 A.M. PT
Location: LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course | Terre Haute, Indiana
Live Stats: HERE

CBU will compete against a highly competitive field in Terre Haute, with Florida, Wisconsin, Northern Arizona and Washington University in St. Louis among the teams set to compete at LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course. The course will serve as the site of the 2026 NCAA Cross Country Championships in November, giving the Lancers an opportunity to gain experience on the championship course and prepare for the postseason.

The Lancer men will be led by sophomore transfer Yemane Mulugeta, who won the men's 8K race at the USF Invitational on Sept. 4 and helped CBU claim the team title. Juniors Gabriel Guzman and Pedro Marin, both top returners from last season, will make their 2026 debuts as the Lancers look to strengthen their men's lineup.

On the women's side, sophomore sisters Helena Mees and Ana Mees will lead the Lancers alongside juniors Keely Bradle and Karolina Bliujute. Helena Mees, Bradle and Bliujute were CBU's top three finishers at the USF Invitational and have continued to perform well in practice leading up to Saturday's race.

The Championship races are limited to seven runners per school, so the remaining three CBU runners competing in Terre Haute will race in the Open events following the Championship races.

The meet will be streamed on RunnerSpace through its subscription service.

Hear from the Head Coach
"Getting out to this competition has been high up on the priority list for our program as our big hope is really to study the course, learn it, operate under pressure from the start to the middle and see how it weighs on us by the end. Last year, one mistake I feel I made was not getting our team on the national course and we are correcting for that this year. It's going to be great experience for our team to be out here.

"I believe both genders are ready to take a good step forward. For the ladies, they are going to have their hands full with so many ranked programs but I think adding Ana and Eleonora will help our depth and our other top ladies have been looking really good in practice. We also have a few ladies who have chances to step up and fill in on the depth front.

"Our men are looking pretty darn good and we are waiting to open a couple really good runners, but the men have the depth to compete for a high finish. The reality is that with 15-20 ranked programs, a 10th-, 15th- or even 20th-place finish in this kind of field could be amazing for this point in the season.

"Watching this group handle pressure and a hard course is going to be fun and give us things to focus on for the rest of the season as we go back into a big, monthlong training block after this. The energy is great right now and we really want to represent CBU and glorify God out there as he's gifted and blessed this team immensely," said Head Coach Sean Smith.

UCR Invitational
Meet: UCR Invitational (Hosted by UC Riverside)
Date: Saturday, September 19th
Time: Women's 6k Invite – 7:15 A.M. PT; Men's 8k Invite – 7:50 A.M. PT
Location: UC Riverside Ag Ops Course | Riverside, Calif.
Live Stats: HERE

The remainder of the CBU squad will compete in Riverside at the Agriculture Operations Course, which will also host the 2026 Big West Cross Country Championships on Oct. 31. Saturday's race will give the Lancers another opportunity to familiarize themselves with the championship course while continuing to build endurance for the remainder of the season.

The course is known for its fast times and will feature competition from several Big West programs.

Junior Jude Enriquez and freshman Noel Huato Cuniga will lead the five-man lineup, while freshman Addison Ballou and sophomore Abby Biber will lead the 10-woman squad.

This will mark the sixth time CBU has competed at the UCR Invitational since transitioning to Division I in 2018. The Lancer men have finished in the top three four times, while the women have recorded three top-three finishes. The men last won the meet in 2024, while the women last claimed the team title in 2021.

Hear from the Head Coach
"This is an amazing competition. It's so important to take care of our team holistically with great race opportunities. With the level of depth we have on the team, meets like UCR Invite are needed to continue seeing development within the program and bring about the kind of depth it takes to have a national caliber program," said Smith.