Concordia finished second at CSU San Bernardino's Coyote Challenge, with Portland State transfer Ania Kapustka finishing third in the 5K race in 18:06 for Runner of the Week honors. Fresno Pacific won the Clovis CC Crush Invitational with Mattie Whipple crossing the line first and Hawai`i Hilo was the best of the three Hawai`i schools at the Big Wave Invite.

2025 Results/Schedule
2025 USTFCCCA Regional and National Polls
 
RUNNER OF THE WEEK: Concordia's Ania Kapustka, Senior, Krakow, Poland                                                                
Concordia's Ania Kapustka had an impressive debut in her first race as a Golden Eagle, finishing third at the Coyote Challenge in San Bernardino. Kapustka, who was Portland State's (Division I) second runner all of last season, clocked 18:06 on the five kilometer course to finish third in a field of 89 runners. The only runners ahead of her were from Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, the defending NCAA Division III West Region champs and currently ranked No. 6 nationally in D3. The top eight runners in the race were from CMS, with Kapustka breaking up the log jam in third. 

TEAM OF THE WEEK: Concordia Golden Eagles                                                                                                                
Concordia finished second of seven teams at the Coyote Challenge on the campus of CSU San Bernardino. The Golden Eagles had 49 points, ahead of the host Coyotes (81) by a comfortable margin and behind Division III national power Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (18). In addition to Ania Kapustka's stellar finish (see above), coach Keegan Bloomfield's squad had a pack of runners finish together just under 19 minutes on the 5K course--(12) Emily Littlefield (18:53), (13) Audrey Barcenas (18:57), (14) Olivia Reed (18:59) and (15) Elizabeth King (18:59). CUI, who finished second at the 2024 PacWest Championships, was picked to finish third in the 2025 Coaches Poll. 

PACWEST NEWS AND NOTES: Fresno Pacific was impressive in its season opener at the Clovis CC Crush Invitational at familiar Woodward Park. The Sunbirds finished first in a all-junior college field of 15 teams. Mattie Whipple crossed the finish line first with a time of 18:34 on the five kilometer course, topping 155 runners. The Sunbirds had 25 team points, easily outdistancing second place Orange Coast College (122). In first-year head coach Landon Miller's debut, FPU had a trio of runners finish fifth-sixth-seventh (in order)--Julissa Avila (18:49), Aly Chavez (18:58) and Julia Martinez (18:59)...In Hawai`i at the Big Wave Invitational, Hawai`i Hilo was the top PacWest island school finishing third with 85 points. At Kapiolani Park on the 4K course, host Hawai`i was the winner with University of Pacific in second. The top PacWest runner was Chaminade's Nikiji Dayse (14:51) who slipped between a pack of Rainbow Warrior and Tiger runners to finish seventh. Hilo's top runner was Kathleen Raab (15:22) and the lead runner for the Sharks was Carly Dyer (16:34). 

LOOKING AHEAD: Next Friday, Biola will host the Biola Invitational in Fullerton at Ted Craig Park, featuring PacWest squads Azusa Pacific, Westmont and Concordia. Stanislaus State will be the host for Jessup and Dominican, while Point Loma runs at CS San Marcos and Hawai`i Pacific travels across the country to New York to run at Iona University.