MONMOUTH, Ore. – Saturday marked three historic feats for the Concordia University Irvine cross country teams.

Both the men and women earned the best finishes in school history since the school made the leap from NAIA to NCAA Division II.  The CUI women finished 11^th as a team, while the men placed 13^th out of the competing schools.

Freshman Porshe Eismann also placed 32nd in the women's 6k race to earn the highest finish ever for a CUI Eagle in a regional race at the NCAA DII level.  Following her was Sara Feitz for the Green and Gold who turned in one of her best races of the entire season.
 
Adriana Gil along with freshmen Madison Templeman and Angelique Antonini rounded out the scoring five for the CUI women.
 
"On the women's side we ran our best race of the year," said CUI head coach Keegan Bloomfield. "We executed our race plan and raced for each other. To see the ladies walk away with our best-ever finish was a great way to end our season. It's such a rewarding experience as a coach to see them push their limits and succeed on one of the biggest stages."
 
To put in perspective how the CUI women have improved over the past five years at regionals, check out this progression:
 
2017- 24^th place with 699 points
2018 – 21^st place with 574 points
2019 – 15^th place with 390 points
2020 – Did not race due to COVID-19
2021 - 11th, 286 points

CLICK HERE for the FULL RESULTS from this year's NCAA DII West Regional Races
 
Angel Aguirre and Hector Arteaga led the charge for the CUI men. The two standouts set the pace and helped the Eagles make history.  Juan Sebastian Garcia, Jason St. Pierre and Joshua Scheetz were in hot pursuit to help score points for CUI as well in the top 100.
 
"For the men, it was great to be back on this course," said Bloomfield. "We've had some strong races here and today was no different. Hector and Angel have lead this team for four and a half years and it was only fitting to see them both towards the front. I'm so proud of those guys and the whole team."
 
Here is a closer look at the progress the CUI men's teams have made over the past five years at regionals:
 
2017 – 20^th place with 537 points
2018 – 21^st place with 568 points
2019 – 18^th  place with 496 points
2020 – Did not race due to COVID-19
2021 –  13^th place with 365 points
 
"I'm so happy for our teams," added Bloomfield. "Overall, we just keep progressing and that's rewarding. We've climbed the ladder each year at regionals and our team only keeps getting better."