By Jimmy Friery
September 20, 2025
 
(SANTA CLARITA, Calif.) The Westmont men's and women's cross country teams ran at the 13th Annual Master's Cross Country Invitational on Saturday, which took place at Santa Clarita's Central Park. The men finished fifth in the 8,000 meter race before the women placed 10th in the 6,000 meters, both among 20 competing teams.
 
With an eclectic mix of Division I, II, and III programs along with junior colleges present, the men's team got things started at 8 a.m. Junior Luke Hein came back to lead the Warriors with a time of 25:38.21, good for 22nd overall.
 
"Luke was dealing with an injury the past nine months that caused him to hold back greatly on his summer training," Coach Chris Hanessian said. "He competed with absolute purpose and determination today, finishing one second off his 8K personal record."
 
Hein was followed by underclassmen Hunter Skoglund (25:53.80, a personal-best) and Samuel Nealon (25.55.50) who finished 30th and 31st, respectively, and significantly bettered their times from a week ago.
 
Senior Thomas Reed clocked in at 26:12.70—good for 48th—giving the Warriors four top-50 finishers among the 220 total runners.
 
Rounding out the team's quickest eight, underclassmen Danny Allan (26:32.90), Timothy Johnson (26:33.21), Lucas Satterlee (26:36.30), and William Covington (26:38.90) all finished within six seconds of each other and placed between 61 and 68.
 
"We had a 54-second spread between our first and fifth runner, and we had our top-five finishers in the front 33 percent of the race, which was a goal we had in mind," Hanessian said. "It has been very exciting watching the men compete so far due to the fact that we had 12 freshmen join our ranks, and many of them are contending very closely for that top-10 spot to race at the conference meet."
 
The Master's, Embry-Riddle Arizona, Azusa Pacific, and Cal Poly Pomona were the four teams ahead of fifth-place Westmont.
 
In a 6,000-meter course, the young Westmont women's team had to dig deep after just a 5,000-meter race at Biola. The 10th-place Warriors had 19 runners compete of the 209 total.
 
"This was the first 6k of the season for the Warrior women and the first 6k for many of our freshmen team members," said coach Lindsey Connolly. "The team handled it well by reducing their one-to-five spread even with an additional 1,000 meters compared to the previous race."
 
Sophie Stoddart finished with a 38th-place 23:28.90, pacing the Warriors once again. Freshman Jassmine Enamorado, a Santa Clarita native, celebrated her homecoming as the second-fastest Warrior, placing 73rd with a 24:20.80 time.
 
Senior Annie West (24:35.60), junior Adalyn Rodriguez (24:42.30), and freshman Lucie Pickering Pick (24:45.30) finished at 83, 90, and 95, respectively—the same top-five for Westmont as last week.
 
"We saw a strong performance from sophomore Grace Roesgen who finished sixth and ran a huge 6k personal best," Connolly highlighted. "Senior Elena Everest also had a personal best performance for cross country and finished ninth for the Warriors."
 
Loyola Marymount, San Diego, and Hawai'i were the top three women's teams on the day.

Both Westmont teams have a week off before competing next Saturday, October 4, at the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational in Claremont.