The 2025 SCIAC Cross Country Championships are set for Saturday, Nov. 1 at Pomona-Pitzer Colleges in Claremont. The men’s 8-kilometer race is set for 8:30 a.m. with the women’s 6k start scheduled for 9:15 a.m.
Championship Central
*** Official SCIAC Cross Country Championship Merchandise Will be Available for Purchase On-Site! Also available online here ***
Men’s Preview
Leading the charge for the title are Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, owners of the past four conference championships and the 14
th-ranked team in the nation. That billing dropped due to an eighth-place finish at the Augustana Interregional Invitational after the Sagehens had spent the entire season among the top-5. Last year’s highest-finishing returner across the conference,
Jack Stein, boats the top time run this season with a 23:45.4 from the UC Riverside Invitational while fellow Newcomers of the Year
Peter Neid (2023) and
Jefferson Wright (2024) have juggled scoring spots alongside
Amir Barkan all season.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges also suffered a reactionary drop in the rankings after taking the sport literally with a flight to the Connecticut College Invitational. Still receiving votes, the Stags fell all the way from No. 10 after peaking as high as eighth earlier in the season after a runner-up performance at the DIII Pre-Nationals on Sept. 20. Second Team All-SCIAC in 2024,
Hayden Beauchemin opened the season with a breakout personal-best 24:57.0 and is flanked by
Jerry Xu and a host of Stags with the opportunity to step into scoring positions.
Stian Asper set a new University of Redlands record with a blazing 24:17.4 at the most recent UCR Highlander Invitational. The Bulldogs enter the postseason ranked sixth in the West region after reaching a high of No. 5. The University of La Verne skyrocketed this past week from unranked to No. 7 in the West thanks to a statement run from rookie
Eamon Wright, who is joined by Athlete of the Week
Finn McClure. Caltech’s
Ryan Fortin and
Stephen Goehringer propped the Beavers up at a high regional ranking of ninth in the preseason and 10
th in week two.
Occidental College’s
Jack Elfenbaum enjoyed a wildly successful trip to Illinois at the Augustana Interregional, placing third individually in the open 400-competitor race.
Gavin White notched a program record in the season-opening Mark Covert Invite at Fullerton for Chapman University, while
Adrian Rodriguez has spearheaded the California Lutheran University lineup all season. A Second Team All-SCIAC performance at last year’s championship will have
Cameron Riccio eyeing another medal for Whittier College, which edged out CLU by one place at the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational.
Women’s Preview
Winners of the Pre-Nationals meet in Spartanburg, S.C. just a month ago, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges have retained a No. 4 national ranking after peaking as high as second. The Athenas have ranked higher than two of the three teams to receive top billing at various points throughout the season and are prohibitive favorites to extend the conference’s second-longest active title streak across all sports.
Riley Capuano finished runner-up at Pre-Nats and holds the fastest time in the SCIAC (20:47.5) from the UC Riverside Invitational that took place the following week. The Athenas have also seen impressive performances from expected names including 2024 SCIAC Newcomer of the Year
Sadie Drucker, 2023 First Team All-SCIAC
Sara Wexler and 2023 SCIAC runner-up
Elle Marsyla.
Pomona-Pitzer shot up six spots in the ranking to No. 22 last week after placing seventh at thee Augustana Interregional Invitational, where the Sagehens entered as the 30
th-ranked team and upset four teams in the 20s as well as the 13
th-ranked institution.
Joya Terdiman has fronted the lineup all season with
Eva Novy-Hildesley and
Fiona Bodkin also closely in the mix.
NCAA qualifier
Jenna LeNay will make a final appearance at SCIACs to cap a superb Occidental College career. The senior enters Champs with a short race schedule but back-to-back top-10 finishes for a Tigers squad that spent the first four weeks of the season ranked sixth regionally before slotting into ninth. Three-time All-SCIAC Second Team honoree
Gigi Pistilli is tracking characteristically well heading into the postseason after a third-place finish in the open heat of the Highlander Invitational, two spots ahead of
Katelyn Sadorf.
Athlete of the Week
Kiera Beyer has combined with another NCAA qualifier,
Eve Mavy, atop the University of Redlands lineup with the duo finishing back-to-back in 16
th and 17
th place at the Highlander Invite. A breakout season of epic proportion has
Brenda Daza potentially entering the title mix for Chapman University after clocking a SCIAC second-best 20:56.1 that set a new program record by 16 seconds at the Highlander.
Ryleigh LaRue has a strong final tuneup with a personal-best time at the Highlander for the University of La Verne, which also boasts Athlete of the Week
Jocelyn Cruz. California Lutheran University’s
Summer Gelman also clocked a season-best time at the Highlander after making the All-SCIAC First Team last fall while rookie
Samantha Avila was the top finisher for Whittier College at the Pomona-Pitzer Invite.
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