By Jeff Raymond
September 12, 2025
 
(FULLERTON, Calif.) The Westmont men's and women's cross country teams opened their 2025 campaigns at the Biola Invitational, hosted at the Ted Craig Regional Park in Fullerton. The Warrior squads, featuring a total of 21 new runners, competed against a mixture of opponents, including top NCAA Division II programs and a pair of Division I teams.
 
The women's team ran first on the 5,000 meter course, finishing in 10th place out of 15 teams. Sophomore Sophie Stoddart paced the Warriors, placing 45th overall in a time of 19:35.6. Newcomer Jassmine Enamorado followed in 58th place and a time of 19:57.2.
 
"We had a good race for our first time out," said Westmont's coach Lindsey Connolly. "We had several new runners figuring out how to run a cross country race. Jassmine showed no fear and just went for it."
 
The next pack of Westmont runners included senior Anne West in 85th (20:45.6), junior Adalyn Rodriguez in 89th (20:54.2), and Lucie Pickering Pick in 91st (20:56.8). Rounding out the top seven runners were juniors Molly Sandridge (21:00.7) and Claire Van Horn (21:12.0).
 
"It was good to see Lucie, another freshman, step into the top five," added Connolly. "A solid group of returners filled out our top seven. We have a lot of room for improvement, but it was a good start and we'll see progression through the season."
 
Biola took top honors in the women's race, followed by Simon Fraser (B.C.) and Concordia.
 
A large group of the Westmont men's team participated in the first 8,000 meter race of their young careers, with 11 newcomers toeing the starting line. Four of those freshmen athletes placed among the top eight for the Warriors, including top finisher Lucas Satterlee, who ended in 40th overall with a time of 25:46.4.
 
"This was a great meet to start the season," said Westmont's coach Chris Hanessian. "I was especially impressed by the freshmen who handled their nerves and pushed through the pain."
 
Junior Tyler Allan was next for Westmont, finishing in 51st place with a time of 26:04.9. He was followed by freshman Kaeden Anderson in 59th (26:16.3), sophomore Samuel Nealon in 63rd (26:22.5), and sophomore Timothy Johnson in 66th (26:26.8).
 
"Samuel missed a couple of weeks of training during the summer due to an injury, so I'm pleased with how he finished after working hard to get back," added Hanessian. "Another highlight was our 41-second spread between our top five runners, which means we did a good job staying in a pack up front. We learned useful information today."
 
Completing the top seven finishers was senior Thomas Reed in 73rd (26:36.5) and freshman Joshua Morgan in 76th (26:41.3). Four additional athletes, including three freshmen, finished under the 27:00-minute mark for Westmont.
 
The Warriors placed ninth out of 16 teams overall. NCAA Division I schools Grand Canyon (Ariz.) and Pepperdine finished first and second, respectively.
 
Westmont will race again on September 20 at The Master's Invitational in Santa Clarita.