Defending PacWest champion Azusa Pacific ran to a third-place finish at The Master's Invitational, topping three other conference squads in a loaded field of 20. Kyle Galinas led the way with a fourth-place run, clocking 24:21 over the eight kilometer course. 

2025 Results/Schedule
2025 USTFCCCA National and Regional Polls
 
RUNNER OF THE WEEK: Azusa Pacific's Kyle Galinas, Sr., Newark, Calif.                                                            
Azusa Pacific's Kyle Galinas finished fourth for the second week in a row, this time at The Master's Invitational. Galinas was one second off his personal best in the 8K, set last week at the Biola Invitational with a time of 24:21, when he also earned PacWest Runner of the Week. The senior finished behind a pair of runners from No. 1 nationally ranked The Masters (NAIA), Jack Anderson (24:11) and Brogan Collins (24:14) and Embry Riddle's Dillon Eisner. Galinas was a Third Team All-PacWest runner last season, but early in 2025 is already made a case to a favorite in the PacWest race.  

TEAM OF THE WEEK: Azusa Pacific Cougars                                                                                                            
Azusa Pacific landed in third place at The Master's Invitational, topping three other PacWest teams in the process. The Cougars were led again by Kyle Galinas, who ran by himself in fourth place with a gap on fifth place finisher and teammate Aaron Lakeman (24:49). Jonas Teeter was the next APU runner in 13th (25:18) and Erick Leal came in 19th at 25:32.  The Cougars were the fastest Division II team in the race, defeating two ranked NAIA programs and D-II ranked No. 13 Cal Poly Pomona by 72 points. APU also finished as the top PacWest school by more than 107 points, ahead of Fresno Pacific, Westmont, and Vanguard. There were 20 teams in the race and 220 runners from every level of collegians (Division I, II, III and NAIA). 
 
PACWEST NEWS AND NOTES: After the APU foursome of Galinas, Lakeman, Teeter and Leal, the next PacWest runner to cross the finish line in Santa Clarita was Westmont's Luke Hein (25:38) in 22nd. Fresno Pacific's top runner was Daniel Galvez in 24th place (25:41). Vanguard's leader was Jesse O'Campo in 37th (25:59)....Westmont was fifth overall, Fresno Pacific was seventh overall, and Vanguard was 12th...In Hawai`i, Chaminade and Hawai`i Pacific ran in the Chaminade Invitational at Kapiolani Park. The Sharks won the 5K race with 18 points over the Silverswords, who had 37. The Sharks had four of the first five runners, led by Drake Hanley in 17:53. Hanley had a big gap on teammate Aaron Humphries (18:03) and Chaminade's Kalamak Francisco (18:29). 

LOOKING AHEAD:  Three races are on tap next Saturday (Sept. 27), with a trio of squads competing at the UC Riverside Invitational (Concordia, Fresno Pacific and Biola). Jessup will be in Monmouth, Oregon at the site of November's NCAA West Region Championships, and Hawai`i Pacific and Chaminade will swap hosting duties with the Sharks and Silverswords running at the site of the PacWest Championships, the Hawai`i Country Club.