FULLERTON, Calif. – Both Concordia University Irvine cross country teams turned in solid outings at the Biola Invitational on Friday.

Competing in their second race of the 2025 season, the CUI women emerged as one of the top two PacWest teams. CUI placed third among 15 schools, behind only Biola and Simon Fraser.  Azusa Pacific finished seventh and Westmont was tenth.

Ania Kapustka placed fifth overall with a speedy performance on the hilly course. Emily Littlefield was the second Golden Eagle to cross the finish line in 22nd place and was closely followed by Olivia Reed right behind her. Elizabeth King and Audrey Barcenas also were Top 30 to round out good placement by CUI's top five runners.

CLICK HERE for Emily's post race interview

Lizbeth Garcia improved on her time from the previous week at the Coyote Challenge by 17 seconds and freshman Adamara Esparza also placed in the Top 50.

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

The men finished third among PacWest schools on Friday. The Golden Eagles were seventh out of 17 teams overall and ahead of Cal State Monterey Bay, Westmont and Cal State LA.

SAAC rep Spencer Handorf was first across the tape for the CUI men's squad. Handorf finished 25th overall and improved on his opening week run in the Coyote Challenge by shaving 22 seconds off his 8k time.

Newcomer Dante Maldonado also was 22 seconds faster this time with his 8k. He was the second Golden Eagle to finish and was followed by teammate Gavin Hellerstedt.

Also among the top five finishers for Concordia on this day were freshman Logan Jones – who cut 26 seconds off his previous 8k time - and teammate Jonathan Warrick. Warrick also had a good showing and improved by 21 seconds at the Biola Invitational compared to what he clocked at the Coyote Challenge.

Both teams will be back in action in a couple weeks at the UCR Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 27 in Riverside.

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