ALISO VIEJO, Calif - The men's and women's cross-country teams enter their first week of postseason competition following a successful tune-up meet at the Pomona-Pitzer Invite, with impressive performances across the board. The Lions now set their sights on the much-anticipated Cal-Pac Conference Championships, which will take place on Monday the 28th at Woodward Park in Fresno, Calif.

The gun fires for the women's race at 9:30 a.m. PST, and the men run an hour later, with the teams running the 6k and 8k distances, respectively. The women, ranked 2nd in the conference after an impressive showing against top-ranked DIII competition on Saturday, aim to secure coveted National Championship qualifying spots as well as All-Conference honors against a stacked field of runners from schools across the Cal-Pac. Led by the talented trio of Yuko Hashimoto, Naylah Oliveira Santos, and Ayu Nakasaki, women's cross-country looks poised to have a historic performance at Woodward Park this Monday.

The men's program also enters the Championships expected to place 2nd in the conference behind a top-30-ranked UC Merced team, but looks to pull off a historic upset. Led by their own big 3 in Andre Souza, Jordan Bravo, and Naoki Kasai, the Lions have impressed this season, as Souza and Bravo have produced a combined six of the conference's top ten times in their last four races. Following notable performances at the Master's Invitational and the Pomona Pitzer Invite against stiff DI, DII, DIII, and NAIA competition, expect to see fireworks on the course in Fresno on the 28th.


Written by: Andre Souza