AZUSA, Calif. – The road to a third consecutive PacWest men's cross country title won't be an easy one for Azusa Pacific. The Cougars, winners of the last two conference championships, will begin the 2025 campaign ranked No. 3 in the PacWest Preseason Coaches Poll, earning 84 points and two first-place votes.
Biola was selected as the preseason favorite, receiving six of the 10 first-place votes and 95 total points, while Concordia landed in second with 88 points and two first-place nods. The Cougars were just four points behind the Golden Eagles in third, positioning themselves once again as contenders in what promises to be a tightly contested season.
It made history in 2023 by winning its first-ever men's PacWest title and followed that up in 2024 with a dominant repeat performance, scoring just 29 points at the conference meet in Irvine. That victory knocked off Biola, who had captured three of the previous four PacWest crowns (2018, 2019, 2022).
Under first-year head coach Jebreh Harris, the Cougars turned in another banner campaign last fall, capped by Harris earning PacWest Coach of the Year honors. But the squad now enters a new chapter after graduating three four-time All-PacWest honorees, including 2024 individual champion Jared Wright along with Riley Burns and Dider Sandoval.
With so much star power having moved on, the Cougars will turn to a new leader in Kyle Galinis, who was tabbed as one of the PacWest's Athletes to Watch this season. Galinis, the 2024 PacWest Newcomer of the Year, placed 15th at the conference meet in Irvine and is the Cougars' top returning finisher.
Biola is eager to reclaim its spot atop the PacWest, led by Melt von Molendorff, the top returning runner in the league after a third-place finish at the 2024 PacWest Championships and a 13th-place run at the NCAA West Regional. The Eagles return 11 runners in total and welcome transfer Marcin Stanglewicz from Ole Miss.
Concordia continues its rise as a conference contender, improving from fourth in 2022 and 2023 to third in 2024. The Golden Eagles bring back First Team All-PacWest runner Noah Plaza and have bolstered their roster with a nine-athlete freshman class.
Westmont (66 points) and Fresno Pacific (65) sit just behind the Cougars in the poll, followed by Vanguard (50), Dominican (40), Hawai'i Pacific (30), Chaminade (20), and Jessup (18).
