Cross country men secure title, women take 4th at Biola

Friday, September 12

Fullerton, Calif. / Ted Craig Regional Park

9:30 a.m.

Grand Canyon

Biola Invitational

Cross country men secure title, women take 4th at Biola

9/12/2025 2:25:00 PM | Cross Country

Men's results Women's results

Lopes win 1st meet since 2019 with Archie finishing atop 168-man field

By: Tyler Killgore

FULLERTON, Calif. – Grand Canyon cross country impressed early in its 2025 season with the Lopes men winning the Biola Invitational on Friday, when the GCU women secured a fourth-place finish in the 15-team field.

The men's meet title was the first for the Lopes since the 2019 Dave Murray Invitational and included a course record set by GCU sophomore Michael Archie.

The Lopes men were dominant across the 5K race at Craig Regional Park, with Archie claimed the individual championship by running a time of 24 minutes, 11:01 seconds. Archie was backed by strong performances from freshman Archie Budding, junior Ethan Smith, graduate Alex Rafferty and junior Tristan Coyle as the Lopes' scoring five.

"The men were absolutely spectacular," GCU head coach Shalya Houlihan said. "They trusted the plan to get out hard and control the race."

Houlihan continues to be impressed by Budding since the Englishman arrived in Phoenix recently.

"Archie continues to keep showing his improvement each week," Houlihan said.

Budding finished with the Lopes' second-best time, running a 24:26:03 to finish sixth overall.

The Lopes' men finished with an average mile pace of 4:56 to lock up the team victory.

On the GCU women's side, the fourth-showing drew high praise from Houlihan.

"The women executed the race plan to perfection today," Houlihan said. "It was a tough course, but they ran hard and embraced the challenge. The hilly, tough terrain will pay off when we get to our (Mountain West) conference meet in Fresno."

Lopes freshman June Zimmerman led the way, finishing in 18:33.07 to take 11th overall as the second-fastest freshman in the race. GCU teammates Taylor Hansen, Isabella Velazquez, Selah Akers and Stella Hall rounded out the top five that was just three points out of third place.

"Freshman June Zimmerman really stepped up in a big way for the squad, and Taylor worked her way up through the field with grit," Houlihan said. "Izzy continues to prove she's tough as nails every time she races. We're being intentional about when we race each athlete, so that we're coming together at the right time, when it matters most."

The GCU women's group averaged 18:52 as a team with a 6:05 mile pace, putting all of the runners in the top 40 of a 152-runner meet.

The Lopes continue their season by visiting in-state foe Arizona at the Dave Murray Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 27, in Tucson.