SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – Azusa Pacific  built momentum in its second meet of the season, racing to standout performances at the TMU XC Invitational on Saturday morning at Central Park. The men placed third out of 20 scoring teams while the women claimed eighth place, continuing a strong start to the 2025 campaign.

Men's 8K
The men's squad turned in one of the best team showings of the day, finishing with 64 points to secure third place overall in a deep 20-team field. Most notably, the Cougars were the fastest Division II team in the race, defeating several ranked programs including No. 13 Cal Poly Pomona by 72 points. APU also finished as the top PacWest school by more than 107 points, ahead of Fresno Pacific, Westmont, and Vanguard.

Kyle Galinis continued his exceptional senior season, placing fourth overall out of 220 runners with a time of 24:21.2. Just seconds behind, Aaron Lakeman carried his debut-season momentum into another top finish, crossing fifth in 24:49.3.

Jonas Teeter added a strong 13th-place showing (25:18.30), while Erick Leal and freshman Isaiah Cowan sealed the scoring five with 19th and 23th place finishes, respectively, giving the Cougars five inside the top 25.

Women's 6K
On the women's side, the Cougars placed eighth out of 20 teams with 204 points, highlighted by a top-10 individual performance.

Sophia Godina led the way, finishing 10th overall in the 209-runner field with a time of 22:24.1. She was followed closely by Sofia Vasquez, who placed 22nd with a mark of 22:57.8.

Rounding out the scoring five were true freshman Ashlynn Doolan, along with veterans Denise Villarreal and Grace Echelbarger, helping APU secure another strong team finish early in the season.

Up Next
APU will be back on the course for the Pomona-Pitzer Invite on Saturday, October 4, where they look to continue building toward another championship-level season.