Mustangs place third at BIOLA Invite

The Master's University cross-country teams competed against top NCAA competition at the BIOLA Invitational Friday at Craig Regional Park in Fullerton, Calif.

The men's team finished third with the women finishing sixth. Freshman Brogan Collins came in third place overall for the men in 24:13 to lead the Mustangs.

Collins, brother of TMU team captain Cedar Collins, led the men to a third-place finish behind Pepperdine University and Grand Canyon University, both NCAA DI squads. TMU was just 12 points out of second despite their conservative race plan. 

"At about two and half miles, a guy surged and it got really hard. It became grind time," Brogan Collins said. "The whole time I was just trying to suffer for the Lord. I'm thankful that He gave me the strength."

Jack Anderson finished in seventh place in 24:26 and Emmanuel De Leon snagged a top-15 finish with his 24:58 effort. Cedar Collins (25:06) and sophomore Eli Lovett (25:20) finished TMU's scoring five to keep the men in a podium position. The Mustang men cut their score by over 50 points across the 8000m race course despite tough conditions.

"You go down our roster and everyone showed up really well," TMU Head Coach Daniel Rush said. "A massive takeaway is everyone contributed today, even the ones not racing. We need everyone moving as one and that bodes well for the future."

For the women, The Lady Mustangs had two top-10 finishes with Suzie Johnson (18:11) in sixth and Alyssa Lovett (18:21) in ninth. TMU finished sixth overall in the team score despite missing All-American Emma Nelson. 

"I was really happy with how the women raced and finished given the tough course," Coach Rush said. "I don't think that this is close to anyone's best race of the season. There is a lot of room to grow."

Saige Miller (19:06) finished in 32nd to be TMU's third runner and top freshman. Kylie Page (19:55) moved up nearly 60 spots over the course of the race to score for TMU as well. 

Up next, TMU will host the The Master's University XC Invitational on Saturday in Central Park in Santa Clarita, Calif.