FULLERTON, Calif. – Both Concordia University Irvine cross country teams snagged their highest finishes ever as a NCAA DII Program at the PacWest Conference Championships on Saturday.

The Eagles finished in fourth place in both the women's and men's races, improving on both last year's finish as well as this year's preseason projections. The Green and Gold were originally picked sixth on both the men's and women's sides in the PacWest Preseason Poll.

The CUI women's team was led by its talented senior class. Rosalba Cabrera was the first Eagle across the finish line and earned an eighth place finish in the 6k race with a time of 22 minutes, 16 seconds. Former PacWest Runner of the Week Bailey Wade followed closely behind in 11th place to also claim Second Team PacWest Honors with Cabrera.

Just a few seconds after Wade crossed the finish line, Anamauri Hernandez locked down 17th place with a time of 22:41 and made the top 21 cut for Third Team All-Conference. Classmate Natalie Hakala turned in a solid time of 23:19 to round out the top four for CUI with a top 35 performance.

"Our senior women were exceptional," explained CUI head coach Keegan Bloomfield. "To see them come for four years and just build and build to lead this group and it was special to see three of our women in the top 21. It was a really good day for us.

"Since the beginning of the season we were just trying our best to run for each other and that has pretty much powered us this whole season," said Cabrera. "Being hungry and humble."

"We all stepped up a lot and it was really cool to see all of this come together," added Hakala. "It was neat to see all the seniors do their part and leave their legacy."

Following the four seniors was a strong crop of CUI freshmen. Two-time PacWest Freshman of the Week Jori Paradis clocked a time of 23:24 which was good for 37th place. A pack of Eagles followed her with Adriana Gil and Sara Feitz both scoring points and Caitlin Shannon and Tilicia Santiago also completing the course in the top 50.

"I'm really proud of the whole team and Natalie because she was there with me," said Paradis. "One thing I've really liked coming in to this program and I never had it in high school is having teammates there to run with. We came in having really high expectations and even though fourth isn't what we wanted, this is our best we've ever done and moving forward, I think this freshman class has a lot of potential and I'm super excited."

"I'm extremely proud of how we performed today, from freshman all the way to seniors," said Hernandez. "I think coming in from when I was a freshman, I've seen such a big transition going on from that year to this year, I think this year is one of the best performances we've all had since I was a freshman here." Making school history is something that makes me really happy to be a part of."
 
Concordia was awarded fourth place on the men's side as well thanks to a combination of factors. Junior Angel Aguirre led the charge and finished strong with a burst down the stretch to place 15th overall and earn Third Team All-PacWest honors.

David Brito was impressive as well, as the sophomore completed the 8K course in 26 minutes, 35 seconds and finished 21st overall. Brito joined Aguirre as a Third Team All-Conference selection.  Aguirre and Brito were actually the 16th and 22nd fastest runners to complete the course, but another competitor from a different school was disqualified which bumped everyone up a spot.

"To see Angel go out and continue to lead was awesome," added Bloomfield. "He and David Brito had some really good performances individually and as a team we ran together and ran strong."

CUI captain Hector Arteaga led a trio of Eagles that finished in the 28 through 30 positions, with freshman Jose Munguia crossing the line 29th and Anthony Ruiz rounding out the top 30.

Along with the three seniors on the women's team that placed in the top 21, CUI earned five All-Conference selections, which was the most in school history. The previous high was two which came last season when Arteaga and Cabrera each reached that rarified air.

"We knew we wanted to do better than last year," said Brito. "We ran as brothers and as a family and for each other. I'm pretty proud of this team and how far we've come. It's amazing to make school history but it also reminds me to stay hungry."
"It's a great place to be at and a great place to start our journey up the ranks," said Aguirre.

"It's really encouraging going forward because we're a team full of freshmen, sophomores and juniors," added Arteaga. "We're looking good as we look to the future and next year. You're always going to want more but it's a stepping stone and I think we're getting closer and closer to what we want which is to bring home that conference championship."

The NCAA DII West Regional races are on Saturday, Nov. 9 up in Oregon. For the full CUI cross country schedule, click here.