Cal Lutheran's women's cross country team posted the fastest combined time in program history on The Master's Invitational course Saturday, Oct. 3, in Santa Clarita.
The Regals placed 15th out of 27 teams with 376 points at Central Park. The Kingsmen finished 18th with 519 points. The two squads combined for 11 personal bests and two course bests, according to Cal Lutheran athletics.
The Regals made history on tired legs.
Head coach Brett Halvaks said the month-long training block made the performances stand out: "I am proud of the performance put forth by the Kingsmen and Regals. We have been in a hard block of training this last month and to have many strong performances on tired legs was exciting."
Alexis Gonzalez paced the Regals for the third consecutive meet, finishing 57th overall in 23:58.8 in the 189-runner women's field. Ellie Sinclair followed in 69th at 24:22.9, and Sophie Wight placed 86th in 24:45.1.
Sloan Pullen crossed in 25:06.9 for 105th place. Angelina Diaz (117th, 25:36.1) and Nico Wilson (120th, 25:42.8) completed the Regals' scoring group.
Alison Orwin (27:23.1), Nataly Tello (27:23.3), Jackie Prieto (28:00.7) and Evan Edwards (29:03.6) also ran for Cal Lutheran.
On the men's side, Henry Gonzalez led the Kingsmen in the 219-runner field, placing 119th in 27:33.3. Julian Guignard finished 125th at 27:46.1, and Daniel Velasquez came in 152nd at 28:35.5.
Jacob Witt (160th, 28:50.2) and Austin Porter (167th, 29:05.4) rounded out the Kingsmen's top five. Sigurd Leikanger, Diego Romero, Vincent May and Armando Cuevas Guzman also competed.
The Kingsmen were picked ninth in the SCIAC preseason coaches' poll. Pomona-Pitzer was the unanimous preseason favorite, seeking a sixth straight conference title.
Both teams return to action Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Pomona-Pitzer Invite in Claremont. The SCIAC Championships follow Friday, Oct. 30, at Strehle Track in Claremont.
