With veteran leadership and youthful talent, the University of Redlands men's and women's cross country teams competed at a high level throughout the season, as headlined by senior Lauren Roberts' (Portland, OR) second-consecutive national appearance. Furthermore, the Bulldog women finished second among the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) for the program's highest finishes since 2007, when the Bulldogs tied for second in the final standings. The Redlands men tallied a sixth-place showing while gaining incredible growth from multiple youthful runners.
The teams kicked off the 2015 campaign with a strong showing at the Redlands Invitational, as the women won the 4500-meter race with six runners among the top-10 finishers. The men boasted five finishers among the competition's top 20 to take second overall on the 6K-course that covered the University's quad and nearby Sylvan Park. Roberts provided a preview of her season's success story by winning the event with a time of 17:01, which was 48 seconds faster than a year ago on the same course. While making her collegiate debut with the Maroon and Gray, freshman Etta Eckerstrom (Lake Forest, IL) closely followed as the second-place finisher with a time of 17:40.
For the men, junior Abhinav Nagpal (Los Alamitos, CA) ran 17 seconds faster than last year to finish fifth in the familiar 6K-race with a Bulldog time of 19:17. Freshman Benjamin Casey (Highland Park, IL) made his Redlands debut a memorable one by crossing the finish line in sixth place with a time of 19:25.
Two weeks later, the season continued at the Mustang Challenge in Santa Clarita, where the Bulldogs competed against the likes of UCLA, Loyola Marymount University, Cal State University San Marcos, Biola University, and Cal State University Fullerton. As a team, Redlands' women ranked first among NCAA Division III foes, finishing ahead of Occidental College, Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, Cal Lutheran University, and Caltech.
Casey recorded a time of 26:56.40 in his 8K debut, while sophomore Sean Unger (Carlsbad, CA) completed the race in 27:15.15 for the fastest of his young Bulldog career.
During the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational, Roberts produced yet another impressive time by posting the fastest 6K of her career at 21:59.65. She took fifth overall in the competition. Junior Jessika Snincsak (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) also bested her previous best time by crossing the finish line in 23:16.95, which placed her 35th overall. Freshman Emily Dabrow (Santa Ana, CA) made her collegiate 6K debut by serving as the Bulldogs' third scorer with a time of 23:35.74.
In addition, multiple Bulldog men showed improvement in their 8K-times during this meet, as highlighted by sophomore John Nichols' (Arroyo Grande, CA) 47-second improvement for a career-best time of 27:36.73 to serve as the Bulldogs' fifth scorer at the meet.
The teams' success propelled the Maroon and Gray into the SCIAC Multi-Dual Meet on October 17 at La Mirada Park. Overall, the women impressed with a slew of career-best marks to post a 7-1 record against conference foes, while the men put together a solid 4-4 showing. Roberts spearheaded the women's performance with another career-best and now school-record time of 21:49.40 to place second at the high-level competition. This improved upon Della Lyle's best mark from the same meet in 2014 by less than two seconds. Snincsak and Eckerstrom quickly followed Roberts, with a pair of top-10 finishes. Snincsak completed the 6K-race in 22:36.86 for a career-best mark, while Eckerstrom made her collegiate debut on the longer course with an impressive time of 22:43.06. Sophomores Daniella Alvarado (Santa Clara, CA) and Emily Guthormsen (Morgan Hills, CA) rounded out the Bulldogs' top five by uncorking respective career-best times of 22:56.58 and 23:36.69. All five of these showings improved upon the runners' previous positions among the Redlands top-20 times, with Eckerstrom breaking into the list in her first-ever 6K-race.
For the men, Nagpal led the Maroon and Gray with his eighth-place time of 26:21.45 for a career-best mark in 8K.
Two weeks later, the Bulldog women took second overall in the team standings at the SCIAC Championships, with all five scorers finishing among the top 30 at the race. After running with the eventual winner for much of the 6K-course, Roberts crossed the finish line with a time of 22:49.48 to take second for All-SCIAC First-Team honors. Eckerstrom and Snincsak joined forces as a dynamic duo for the Bulldogs, completing the race in 23:49.03 and 23:50.28, respectively. Their seventh- and eighth-place showings landed them among the All-SCIAC First Team as well.
For the men, Casey led the Bulldogs to their sixth-place team finish by clocking a 30th-place time of 27:19.65.
In mid-November, Redlands competed at the 2015 NCAA West Regional Championships while running the familiar course at Pomona-Pitzer Colleges. Among the team standings, the Bulldog women finished eighth, while the men took 12th among the fastest runners in the region. Roberts headlined the Bulldogs' performance with her sixth-place time of 22:05.10. By finishing among the top 35 at the regional, she earned her second-consecutive All-Region honor and qualified for the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships for the second year in a row.
For the Bulldog men, senior Ian Lee (Las Vegas, NV) ran his second-fastest 8K-time of the season with a mark of 27:26.74 for 47th place as the regional race.
During the national meet, Roberts registered a time of 22:24.8 to finish 111th out of 280 runners in Winneconne, WI. Despite the below-freezing temperatures, she overtook one last runner in the final 1,050 meters to finish among the top 39% of the nation's best runners in NCAA Division III.
In addition to the All-SCIAC awards, Redlands received multiple individual honors on behalf of the conference. Roberts was tabbed a co-recipient of the Celia Peterson Award, which recognizes sincerity of purpose in academic pursuits, sportsmanship, determination, leadership, and athletic success. Roberts owns a cumulative GPA of 3.94 and looks forward to completing her degree in Sociology later this spring. She finished second at the SCIAC Multi-Dual by posting the fastest 6K time in school history. As the only senior among the youthful roster, Roberts has played a huge leadership role while helping to guide the Bulldogs to a breakout season.
Furthermore, Eckerstrom was named the SCIAC's Newcomer of the Year after she posted the fastest time among the first-year competitors during the conference championships. Head Coach Mike Schmidt, Assistant Coach Brit March, and Assistant Coach Richard Nakaoka received the SCIAC Coaching Staff of the Year award.
Although the graduation of its senior class causes significant voids, the Bulldog cross country program continues in the right direction with dedication, talent, and depth. With multiple returning runners already among the program's fastest in history, Redlands holds high expectations for individual accountability for taking the program to the next level.