PLNU WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY MOTIVATED AHEAD OF NEW SEASON

(SAN DIEGO) PLNU Women’s Cross Country is coming off its best season in nearly a decade.

Point Loma is hoping to take it one step further in 2026.

The Sea Lions finished second at the PacWest Championships last year before placing sixth in the NCAA West Regional, just one spot shy of qualifying as a team for the NCAA Championships.

“We've done really well the last couple of years,” said Avery Takata, Interim Director of Cross Country and Track & Field. “We missed winning the PacWest and making nationals by one spot, so having them feel the loss of missing it by one spot has made them really hungry for what it is going to take to make it all the way.

“Maddie Reeves made it out to nationals (as an individual), so having a forerunner really helps when somebody has been there and knows what it looks like. Our coaching staff knows what it takes because we've gotten somebody there before. Having the national representation is really important for us. We know what it takes to make it all the way; we just have to put the pieces together.”

There are more pieces to the puzzle this season with Point Loma having added to its roster, increasing competition within the group for which 10 runners will represent the Sea Lions at any given meet.

“The goal was to add to our roster and the biggest push was to add to our depth,” Takata said. “I've been really trying to instill in them being hungry to be that 10th runner. If you have 25 girls, only 10 of them get to go.

“Something I've been saying over and over to them is, ‘Make the decision right now that you're going to be the 10th’ and ‘How am I going to make that happen with what I'm doing right now?’”

Since their arrival on campus in mid-August, Takata has been impressed with what she’s seen from the group.

“It feels like we haven't skipped a beat,” Takata said. “They are just ready to get into it and ready to get after it. They've worked so hard all summer and put in all this training so they didn't miss anything. We jumped right into our time trial and a lot of them had goals from last year that they had set and a lot of them achieved them.”

ROSTER

Point Loma returns 14 runners from a season ago and added 11, two transfers and nine freshmen.

Among the returning group is All-PacWest performer and sophomore Jocelyn Gibson, as well as senior Mikayla Horning who has consistently scored points for the Sea Lions over the last few seasons.

“Jocelyn Gibson was All-PacWest last year and she’s only getting stronger,” Takata said. “She’s putting in more mileage, so I’m excited about what she can do this year. Mikayla Horning is a senior this year and had a great time trial as well. Keeping those girls healthy and getting them to rally the troops, having them be able to look behind them and be like ‘Who's coming with me?’ is going to be the biggest thing right now.”

Leading the team will be captains Eliana Perks, Emerson Beard and Sophia Von Gierke, who have also been significant contributors during their PLNU careers.

“All the older girls have done a really great job of stepping up into leadership roles,” Takata said. “I'm really impressed with the ways that they're able to see a need and jump in and fill it right away. They’ve done a really good job of showing up and creating their best effort.”

Of the newcomers, Takata highlighted Lenoir-Rhyne transfer Sabrina Fleig, as well as incoming freshmen Maddie Menke, Taylor Davis and Telina Chicca.

“I'm excited about a lot of them,” Takata said. “I think they're all just really excited and hungry to show what they can do and bring to our roster. In our first time trial, a lot of the newcomers were in the front which was really exciting just to see them really eager to get started.”

SCHEDULE

Point Loma opens its season on Thursday at the SDSU Coastal Classic.

The Sea Lions will then race at the Riverside Invite (Sep. 19), Cougar Challenge (Oct. 3), Highlander Invite (Oct. 17) and John Elders Titan Invite (Oct. 23) before the postseason begins in November.

“In trying to make an at large bid for nationals, they look into what meets you went to that were the most challenging and how you performed against the competition,” Takata said. “We’re really prioritizing those Riverside meets to do the best at, setting them up in their training really well to compete at those.

“Our new assistant coach (Carolinh Calvert) ran at UCR so she knows those courses really like the back of her hand. We’re going to be championing in them that those two meets are going to be really significant in what we're trying to do at the national level.”

The PacWest Championships are scheduled for Nov. 8 in Rocklin, with the Sea Lions having improved upon their finish at the conference meet from the year prior in each of the past five seasons.

Point Loma was picked No. 2 in the PacWest Preseason Poll, announced on Thursday, earning two first-place votes from the conference coaches.

“The goal is always to win the conference,” Takata said. “We’re chasing Biola and we hope to take first place for the first time since 2018. The strategy needs to start now so we've blocked out the year to really set them up well to do that. We’ve broken up the year in terms of each meet looking to set them up to be the most successful at the conference level and then making it out to the regional.”

Helping the Sea Lions’ cause to win a first conference title since 2018 is Interim Associate Head Coach Madi Bucci, who ran on that PacWest championship team.

“She was on that 2018 team and was in all the strategy meetings for the success that we’ve had in the last few years,” Takata said. “Her expertise in the realm of cross country in general is going to be what carries us.”

The NCAA West Regional is scheduled for Nov. 21 in Sacramento with the NCAA Championships set to be run on Dec. 5 in Lawrence, Kansas.

For the team’s full schedule, click HERE.