RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The Concordia University Irvine cross country teams put together one of their strongest outings of the season on Saturday at the UC Riverside Invitational, highlighted by a program record and a wave of personal bests.

On the men's side, Noah Plaza ran the fastest 8,000-meter time in school history, placing among the top finishers in a deep and competitive field. He wound up sixth overall out of more than 220 collegiate runners and was second among all runners from NCAA DII programs. His effort guided the Golden Eagles to the second-fastest men's team time ever recorded at CUI.

Spencer Handorf rose to the occasion with an impressive race, while Dante Maldonado, Logan Jones, and Jonathan Warrick all delivered personal records to solidify the team's overall performance.

The women's squad also produced several highlights. Ania Kaputska, Olivia Reed, and Elizabeth King led the way with strong races, while Maleah Kanayama and Mariza Chavez turned in solid efforts. The Golden Eagles also notched a key result by defeating conference rival Point Loma and Nazarene University on a tiebreaker. PLNU entered the meet ranked in both the region and the PacWest standings.

"This was a big step for both our men and women," said head coach Keegan Bloomfield. "We had a lot of personal bests today, and setting a new school record shows how far the program has come. I'm proud of the way we competed."

The Golden Eagles return to action on Saturday, Oct. 11, at the San Francisco State Invitational.