Biola won the 2022 Pacific West Conference Men's Cross Country Championship by a mere one point over Azusa Pacific (41-42), and in fact the Eagles have won three of the last four MXC titles.

Oddly, perennial running power Azusa Pacific has never won a PacWest title, but the coaches think that this might be the year. The Cougars are the unnanamous favorite to win in 2023, capturing all nine first place votes and a perfect 81 poll points.

Biola is next (68), followed by Fresno Pacific (65) to make for a very strong top three. Concordia (49) is fourth, newcomer Westmont is fifth (43), Academy of Art sixth (42), Dominican seventh (28), Hawai`i Pacific (17) eighth and Chaminade is ninth (12).

Azusa Pacific had four runners in the top ten a year ago at the PacWest meet in northern California, and three of those runners return in Nixon Korir (fifth), Felix Perrier (ninth) and Didier Sandoval (tenth). They actually have four racers who were in the top 10 last year when you add in grad transfer Jared Wright (Dominican) who crossed the line eighth last year for the Penguins. Additionally, they have added former Oklahoma State runner Juan Diego Castro, who won the indoor Big 12 title last year in the 1,000 meters. On that strength, the Cougars are ranked 16th in the preseason national poll.

The Cougars finished third at the NCAA West Regional in Montana and 21st at the NCAA National Championships, both top finishes for a PacWest team. Korir was APU's top runner at the PacWest meet (fifth), Perrier was the first Cougar across the line at regionals (21st) and Sandoval was their top runner at the national championships (67th).

Biola will be missing PacWest champ Benjamin White, a grad transfer in 2022 that also placed fourth at the regional meet. But the Eagles return PacWest third-place finisher Jerry Baltzer and Ryan Todd, who finished seventh as a rookie and was named the PacWest Freshman of the Year. The Eagles have three others on the 2023 roster that placed in the top 30 in 2022--Aidan Tomasini (18th), Jacob Shirota (25th) and Aiden Arredondo (27th).

Fresno Pacific is only one season removed from winning the PacWest title themselves, having captured the crown in 2021. In 2023, they have the advantage of running on their own Woodward Park course for the PacWest Championships on October 21. Bryan Banuelos could be considered the top returning runner in the conference on the strength of his second place finish behind White last year and his fifth place crossing at regionals. 

Concordia, who finished fourth at the PacWest Championships, had seven runners in the top 30 places in 2022. Six of those racers return, giving the Golden Eagles a solid shot at creeping into that top group. PacWest newcomer Westmont is predicted to take fifth place, one year after placing second at the GSAC Championships and 17th at the NAIA Nationals. Zola Sokhela returns to lead the Warriors with a 2022 GSAC title on his resume and NAIA All-American status.

Academy of Art, who finished fifth in 2022, is listed in the sixth spot by PacWest coaches in 2023. Dominican (seventh), who lost Jared Wright to APU, adds All-PacWest performer Logan McNamar from Holy Names. Hawai`i Pacific is next (eighth) and features five seniors or grad students on their roster. Chaminade rounds out the list (ninth), led by senior Owen Daugherty who has been the Silverswords' top runner in all 11 of his career races.

The 2023 season will get underway for some this coming weekend. Academy of Art and Dominican will race at the USF Invite in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park on Friday, while Fresno Pacific will race at Woodward Park on Saturday. The following weekend Biola gets underway in Fullerton with Westmont, while Azusa Pacific doesn't race until Sept. 16 at UC Riverside, along with Concordia, Fresno Pacific and Chaminade.