Biola’s Zach Elam finished an impressive second at CSU Fullerton’s race and the Eagles were fifth overall. Concordia was fifth as well at San Bernardino to wrap up the first weekend of racing.

2026 Results/Schedule
2026 USTFCCCA National and Regional Polls
 
RUNNER OF THE WEEK: Biola’s Zach Elam, Grad., Corona, Calif.                                    
Zach Elam was impressive in his Biola debut, finishing second at the Mark Covert Classic (CSU Fullerton) in Corona. The University of San Francisco graduate transfer clocked 25:09.3 on the 8K course, crossing the line as the top collegian in the field. Running in his hometown, Elam moved up in the pack as the race progressed.  “Zach did a good job leading the charge for us,” said his coach Sean Henning. “He moved up significantly throughout the race and showed his fitness without a doubt." Elam was Division I USF’s MVP in 2024.

TEAM(s) OF THE WEEK: Biola Eagles and the Concordia Golden Eagles                        
Biola and Concordia share Team of the Week honors after fifth place finishes in their respective races to open up 2026. Biola competed at the Mark Covert Classic at the Green River GC in Corona, where host CSU Fullerton edged Long Beach State 54-59. Zach Elam was the top collegiate runner in the meet and next in Biola’s scoring column was Grant Miller in 20^th (25:36). Concordia was also fifth at the Coyote Classic on the campus of CSU San Bernardino, in a race won by nationally ranked Cal Poly Pomona. The Golden Eagles were in the upper half of the field of 13 teams, paced by Owen Stults’ 19^th place finish (25:49.9) and Spencer Handorff’s 24^th place crossing (26:05.8).
 
PACWEST NEWS AND NOTES: Hawai`i Pacific’s Drake Hanley was the top runner at Big Wave Invitational on the north shore of Oahu, running 18:18 on the 5K course. His teammate Aaron Humphries was next in 19:06, followed by Chaminade’s Amari Lino (20:38) in the dual-team race, won by the Sharks, 25-31…Westmont was fourth of five teams, with three Division I teams ahead of them at the Gaucho Invite in Lompoc. Phillip Contakes was the top Warrior runner in 11^th place with a time of 18:39 on the 6K course…Jessup and Dominican competed at the University of San Francisco Invitational at Golden Gate Park. In the loaded Division I field, DUC’s Diego Montag was his team’s top runner in 27:20 on the 8K course, with Ryden Rivera pacing the way for Jessup in 27:05…In the CSU Fullerton race, Vanguard placed eighth with Omar Arroyo leading the Lions in 26:12 (8K)...The Fullerton race was won by former Concordia standout Noah Plaza, now running unattached, in 24:43. 

LOOKING AHEAD: It’s a light week for PacWest teams, with only Jessup and Dominican competing. Both squads will be at Stanislaus State’s Kim Duyst Twilight meet on Saturday (5 pm) in Ceres at the River Oaks Golf Course.