The Cougars were challenged in yet another race as both the men’s and women’s finished 30th overall
Azusa Pacific’s cross country teams competed in their third race of the season at the Capital Cross Challenge on Saturday in Sacramento, Calif.
APU competed against some of the top cross country programs in the state, including UC San Diego, UC Berkeley and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Although both the men’s and women’s teams finished in the bottom tier of the standings, the Cougars proved they can compete against these formidable opponents.
The men’s squad was the first group to compete for APU, racing in the fifth heat of the competition. The race was placed in the collegiate invite section, with a group of more than 280 men running an 8k. The Cougars finished 30th out of 35 schools with an average time of 26:26. The top racer for the Cougars was freshman Nixon Korir who placed 135th overall with a 25:40.8 finish in his second collegiate race.
“Of course Korir is still really raw, as he has only been with us for a few weeks,” said head coach Preston Grey. “But he definitely brings hope of a bright future for this program.”
The second best finisher for the men’s squad was another freshman in Ben Sumner. Sumner crossed the line at 25:46.8, finishing only 11 spots below Korir. Senior Kurt Hake finished third for APU with a 26:23.9 finish.
Two races later, the women competed in a 6k. Out of the 40 universities that competed, the Cougars, once again, finished 30th overall with the team average of 22:53. Senior Sammy Bockoven paced the Cougars with a time of 21:54.2, placing her 77th overall. Junior Natali Contreras was the second fastest runner for the Cougars, crossing the line at 22:08.1, and freshman Molly Hake was third for the Cougars with a 22:59.9 finish.
“Sammy transferred from one of the top Division I programs in the country in Villanova,” Grey said. “She has seen [just] about everything when it comes to racing, so she definitely brings a much needed veteran presence to our team.”
After a disappointing last place finish at the Cougar Challenge, APU once again fell short at the highly competitive Capital Cross Challenge. However, the team gained valuable experience at the invitational. For the men, seven of the 10 roster spots are filled by lowerclassmen, while for the women’s nine-person team is comprised of six underclassmen to just three upper.
“We are going to learn a lot from this race,” Grey said. “The fields were incredibly deep. Our teams are not super experienced. So it was a good chance for our team to practice running in elite fields and to see what steps we need to take in order to become a stronger, more developed squad.”
The Cougars next race will be in Claremont, Calif. where they will compete in the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational. This is the first time the Cougars will race in this invitational since 2014 where the women finished in second and the men finished fifth. The race will take place on Oct. 12 at Pomona College.