TMU women place fifth at TMUXC Invite

The Master's University men's cross country team took the team and individual team win at the TMUXC Invitational Saturday in Santa Clarita, Calif.

Jack Anderson took the individual 8000m win with a time of 24:11, defeating a field of NCAA talent. The TMU men easily outpaced the rest of the opposition, scoring just 31 points.

"There was a lot of moments where I was definitely feeling afraid that I wasn't going to finish well," Anderson said. "In those moments, I remembered to look to Christ and remember the suffering He had on my behalf."

This was Anderson's second win of the season and was an improvement of over 10 seconds from last year's race. He was closely followed by freshman Brogan Collins in second place who finished in 24:14 to give the Mustangs a strong 1-2 punch.

Emmanuel De Leon gave the Mustangs another top-10 finish in 24:50 but TMU was bolstered by Isaiah Fastrup's 10th place finish as the team's fourth man in 25:11. Fastrup, a 2024 All-GSAC performer, gave the Mustangs a much needed low scorer to pull away from the field. 

"The whole race I was just asking the Lord in prayer for strength," Fastrup said. "It was hard. That one hurt but ultimately, I just relied on the Lord's strength."

Hunter Roy finished in 25:18 to round out the scoring for the Mustang men.

On the women's side, TMU got off to a hot start with four runners in the top five early on. Suzie Johnson and Alyssa Lovett led a chase pack as one runner broke from the pack. 

"In the last final loop, going up the big hill, I heard a lot of people saying, 'You can catch her,'" Johnson said. "Coming down the final stretch, she was right there and I was able to finish through. Thanks to all the people who came out to support us!"

Johnson passed Hawaii's Emilie Langschwager with around 100m to go to take the individual win in 21:27. Alyssa Lovett placed 18th overall and freshman Saige Miller finished in 23rd.

The Lady Mustangs placed fifth overall in a field loaded with NAIA and NCAA DI talent. 

TMU will compete next at the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational on Oct 4 in Claremont, Calif.