2019 PacWest Poll
1.	Biola (7)	138
2.	Point Loma (3)	126
3.	Academy of Art (2)	122
4.	Azusa Pacific	116
5.	Fresno Pacific	93
6.	Concordia	82
7.	Hawai’i Pacific	68
7.	Notre Dame de Namur	68
9.	Hawai`i Hilo	42
10.	Dominican	29
11.	Holy Names	26
11.	Chaminade	26
First-place votes in parenthesis

TEAM CAPSULES

IRVINE, Calif. – For the second year in a row, Biola is the preseason favorite to win the PacWest title, while defending champion Point Loma and Academy of Art also earned first-place votes.
 
All three teams will open their seasons on September 7 at the Biola Invitational, which will be held at Ted Craig Regional Park, which is also the location for the PacWest Championships. The 14th edition of the PacWest Women’s Cross Country Championships will be held at 8 a.m. on October 26, when Point Loma will be looking to defend its title as Biola and Academy of Art each compete for their first title in program history.
 
Biola returns three All-PacWest runners from last year’s team, which finished in third place at the PacWest Championships. Mackenna Mason finished in sixth place last year, which was the second-best finish by a runner that is returning for the 2019 season. Clara Haynes and Mandi Reyes are also back on the team for the upcoming season. Biola earned seven of the 12 first-place votes.
 
After winning its first PacWest title in the most competitive race in PacWest history last year, Point Loma is picked second in the preseason poll. The Sea Lions earned three first-place votes and return a strong team despite graduating four all-conference runners. Zita Molnar is back after earning second-team All-PacWest recognition last year along with three-time PacWest Freshman of the Week Emily Donahue. Along with adding a crop of freshmen to the roster, Point Loma also brings back Jordan Sienkiewicz and Alyssa Stromsland, who were both counters in 2017.
 
Academy of Art has the top returning runner in the conference in Hasna Kaarour, who finished second in the PacWest Championships last year and was an All-West Region runner. The Urban Knights received two first-place votes and also return the reigning PacWest Freshman of the Year Audrey Rosencrans, who finished in 11th place at the PacWest Championships.
 
Azusa Pacific finished in second-place at the PacWest Championships after narrowly losing the tiebreaker for first place, 3-2. The Cougars lost defending individual champion Eileen Stressling, but have five runners returning from last year’s team, which took seventh place in the West Region. The Cougars are picked fourth in the preseason poll and added NCAA Division I transfer from Villanova, Sammy Bockoven.

Fresno Pacific is picked fifth in the preseason poll with All-PacWest runner Stefani Gaskell back on the roster. She is one of eight returners for the Sunbirds, which finished in fifth place as a team last year at the PacWest Championships. Gaskell is joined again by Araceli Mancilla, who took 26th place in the conference race.
 
Concordia is picked sixth in the preseason poll, matching the team’s sixth-place finish last year. The Eagles only lost one runner from last year’s team and return All-PacWest honoree Rosalba Cabrera. Hawai`i Pacific and Notre Dame de Namur are tied for seventh in the preseason poll. Both teams made significant additions to the depth of their rosters as they look to improve on last year’s finishes.
 
Hawai`i Hilo is picked ninth in the poll followed by Dominican and then Holy Names and Chaminade in a tie for 11th place. Dominican lost its top runner from last season, but returns the rest of the team. The Silverswords recruited Alena Albertson from Austin, Texas, and she opened the season with the second-best time by a PacWest runner at the UH Big Wave Invitational.
 
After the Hawaii schools got an early start to their season, the California teams have their season openers this weekend with seven PacWest schools racing at the Biola Invitational on September 4. There will also be eight PacWest teams at the Capitol Cross Challenge in Sacramento, California, on September 28.
 
Following the PacWest Championships on October 26, the NCAA West Regional will be held on November 9 in Monmouth, Oregon. Teams and individuals that qualify will advance to the NCAA National Championships, which will be held in Sacramento, California, on November 23.