Women's Cross Country

Eagles Sweep First WXC Awards

Biola finishes second at the Mark Covert Classic, with Eagle junior Jaina Kang crossing the line third overall.

Biola gets the Opening Week awards sweep after an impressive performance at CSU Fullerton’s meet. The Eagles finish second in the mostly D-I field, and BU’s Jaina Kang places third overall with a 6K time of 20:54.

2026 Results/Schedule
2026 USTFCCCA National and Regional Polls
 
RUNNER OF THE WEEK: Biola’s Jaina Kang, Jr., 5-7, Langley, British Columbia                          
Biola’s Jaina Kang was impressive in her 2026 debut at the Mark Covert Classic in Corona. The Canadian finished third overall with a 6K time of 20:54, a career best for the junior. Kang finished two seconds out of second place and had a healthy five-second lead on the next runner. Kang, who finished sixth at the 2025 PacWest Championships and was selected as the conference Freshman of the Year in 2024, bettered her lifetime 6K best (21:18) by 24 seconds.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: Biola Eagles                                                                                                        
Biola, the defending PacWest champs, opened the 2026 season on target with a second-place finish at the CSU Fullerton meet at Corona’s Green River GC. The Eagles tallied 49 points with five runners in the top 19 spots, finishing only behind Division I host Fullerton, who had 35 points. Jaina Kang (see above) led the way with a third-place crossing (20:54), but Hailey Wurzbach wasn’t too far behind in fifth (21:00). Claire Lesiw was 13th (21:15), freshman Lauren Sherman finished 15th (21:16) and Alyssa Lopez rounded out the Eagle top five in 19th (21:24). Overall, Biola had seven runners in the top 26 placers and defeated D-I’s Long Beach State and Loyola Marymount, and also No. 9 nationally ranked Division III Pomona-Pitzer.
 
PACWEST NEWS AND NOTES: Hawai`i Hilo’s Kathleen Raab was the PacWest’s top runner at the Big Wave Invitational in Kahuku, finishing seventh with a 5K time of 20:25. The Vulcans were second behind host the University of Hawai`i with 55 points, with Hawai`i Pacific next (82) and Chaminade fourth (91). Sequoia Gonzales was right behind teammate Raab in 20:30. HPU’s top runner was Aspen Maldonado (21:00) and Chaminade’s top racer was Jocelyn Thomas (21:42)…Vanguard was fifth in Corona, ahead of NAIA power The Master’s with 138 points to 168. The Lions’ top runner in 20th place was Kaitlyn Smith (21:25)…Concordia was fourth of 14 teams at CSU San Bernardino’s Coyote Classic. The Golden Eagles fared well in the deep field, won by Cal Poly Pomona and followed by No. 4 nationally ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (D-3) and CSU Monterey Bay. CUI finished ahead of three Division II teams and one D-I. 2025 PacWest Newcomer of the Year Ania Kapustka returned to form with a fourth-place finish on the 6K course in 21:26…Westmont was the only non-Division I team at the Gaucho Twilight in Lompoc, finishing fifth. The top Warrior runner was Sofia Hernandez, who clocked 14:36 on the 4K course…Also running in a all-Division I field was Point Loma at the Aztec Classic in San Diego, finishing fifth. Sarah Kim was PLNU’s top finisher with a time of 18:37 on the 5K route…Jessup and Dominican ran at the University of San Francisco Invitational. JU’s Angela Gladysh was the top Warrior runner in 22:11 (5K) and Jessica Carvalho paced the Penguins in 24:31.  

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.