SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — The Concordia University Irvine cross country teams opened the 2026 season Saturday at the Coyote Challenge, with both the men's and women's teams finishing inside the top five at Cal State San Bernardino.

The CUI women placed fourth as a team with 113 points, finishing just behind Cal Poly Pomona, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Cal State Monterey Bay. The Golden Eagles posted a combined team time of 1:50:04 with an average time of 22:00 across their scoring five.

Graduate student Ania Kapustka led the way for the Golden Eagles, finishing fourth overall in the women's 6K with a time of 21:26.8. Kapustka averaged 5:45.1 per mile and finished less than 13 seconds behind the individual winner.

Ryann Smith also delivered a top-10 performance for CUI, crossing the finish line ninth overall in 21:34.8. The Golden Eagles continued to put together a strong team result with their next three scorers finishing 21st, 38th and 41st overall.

On the men's side, CUI finished fifth out of 13 teams with 138 points. The Golden Eagles recorded a team time of 2:10:58 and averaged 26:11 per runner across their scoring five.

Sophomore Owen Stults paced the Golden Eagles in the men's 8K, crossing the line in 19th place to lead the Green and Gold.

Spencer Handorf also finished 24th overall with a time of 26:05.8. Logan Jones followed closely behind in 31st at 26:15.2, while CUI's remaining three scorers finished 38th, 39th and 41st overall.

The Coyote Challenge marked the first competition of the season for the Golden Eagles, who entered the season with high expectations. The CUI men were selected to finish second in the PacWest Preseason Coaches Poll, with Handorf and Dante Maldonado returning as All-Conference performers.

CUI will be back in action in a couple weeks at the UC Riverside Invitational on Saturday, Sept.19th.