BILLINGS, Mont. – The Concordia University Irvine cross country teams both placed in the top half of the regional races on Saturday after competing up north in chilly Billings, Montana.
The CUI men placed 11th out of 25 schools. That is the third-best finish in the NCAA DII era for the program.

Noah Plaza was the top finisher for the men and came in 19th overall. Plaza was also Concordia's top male finisher at the recent PacWest Conference Championships, where the senior was named First Team All-Conference by crossing the line seventh.

Colin Bervig was second for the Golden Eagles in 54th place and came across the line five seconds ahead of teammate Fernando Aguirre (57th place). Rounding out the Top 5 scorers for CUI were Spencer Handorf (62nd place) and junior Marcus Shin.

For the ladies, CUI came in 8th place out of 31 teams. This is the second highest finish for the Concordia women, following up last year's impressive fourth place finish.

First Team All-PacWest runner Taylor Whitfield led the way once more and crossed the line in 17th place. Less than 15 seconds later was her teammate Porshe Eismann who earned 26th place.

Claudia Vera moved up to 41st place with a strong second part of the race. Sophomore Emily Littlefield was next in 68th place and Mariza Chavez and Elizabeth King were within two minutes of each other.

CLICK HERE for the full CUI men's cross country schedule

CLICK HERE for the full CUI women's cross country schedule