After only being able to compete at Western Athletic Conference finals for years following transition from NCAA Division 2, Lancers are motivated to have an impact at West Regional in quest to qualify for first Division 1 championship

By Landon Negri for DyeStat

The saying goes that patience is a virtue, and for the past five years, it has become a way of life for the California Baptist University cross country programs.

The Lancers could win invitationals and triumph at their conference championship meet, but it was always as far as things could go.

At least, that is, until this year.

“This is by far our most talented group, but more than that, this is the most excited group,” fifth-year head coach Adam Tribble said. “They truly are (as you said) they are chomping at the bit to go. So it’s been a long time coming and I’m glad they’re finally going to get a chance.”

Cal Baptist carries national rankings for both sides Saturday into the Western Athletic Conference championship meet in Nacogdoches, Texas.

Success is nothing new for the Lancers.

The CBU men have won two straight WAC Championships, with an upset loss to Utah Valley State last year broke a string of three consecutive conference titles for the women.

Prior to that, there were national top-10 finishes in NAIA, NCAA Division 2, and even their two seasons in the National Christian College Athletic Association.

But, in this transitional period for CBU as it moves from NCAA Division 2 to Division 1, they’ve been barred from postseason competition until this year.

In essence, the program with the 14th-ranked women in Division 1 and 25th-ranked men in the most recent USTFCCCA National Coaches’ Poll is ready to be unleashed.

What the cross country programs are going through on the west Riverside campus is similar to the school’s other athletic teams in a meteoric rise in prominence during the last decade.

“The school has grown so much, even in the four-plus years I’ve been here,” Tribble said. “It’s over 11,000 students now. So that’s a long way from where it was a few short years ago. I think that mojo, if you will, funnels into all that we do.”

Tribble came to CBU in 2018 to oversee this transition, having been at the University of Alabama the previous seven seasons as an assistant. The Lancers have had constant success under Tribble, who has earned five Western Athletic Conference Cross Country Coach of the Year awards.

CBU was successful at lower levels and have built their roster with runners from anywhere and everywhere for the same success in Division 1. Tribble estimated runners from 18 different countries on his roster.

“We don’t just set to (recruit) international, we recruit all over,” Tribble said. “I think, as of right now, we have people from Europe, South America, Africa and North America, and so it’s not just one place.”

Yet year after year, they’d be the best program in the WAC, only to shake hands and smile after the conference finals meet knowing their season was over.

Living your sporting life that way meant a tremendous amount of patience if you were going to be a Cal Baptist runner.

“It took some patience,” said junior Rikus Van Niekerk, who is from South Africa.

“Last year at this time, we were about to do our last race in a week and then be done with the season. Whereas most of our guys have only done two races by now and we have most of the season ahead of us.

“It’s been hard staying patient, early on in the season in August and September and knowing not to overdo anything knowing there’s still a month until the end of the season,” added Van Niekerk, who finished 51st and helped his team to a second-place finish Oct. 15 at the Weis-Crockett Invitational at Oklahoma State.

“So it’s been exciting to work to it …”

Throw in the curveball of pandemic in 2020, and CBU has been on quite the journey.

Strangely, though, Tribble feels like the COVID-19 pandemic, with its uncertainty and unprecedented sacking of the 2020 season, actually brought his teams together.

“We had such great support from our administration that we were able to really take care of the kids during that time,” Tribble said. “We made the most of it, and it ended up being a nice bridge to get through a very difficult time, both in the world and also in the transition period.”

For the Lancers’ final non-eligible season in 2021, the men enjoyed a 1-5 sweep to win conference with a perfect 15 points in the WAC Championships at the UC Riverside Ag-Ops course.

Then-junior Florian LePallec, who is from France, won the individual crown on the 8-kilometer course in 23 minutes, 18.5 seconds. Ivo Balabanov, Giedrius Valincius, Arturs Medveds and Said Mechaal rounded out that group of five, with only Balabanov having graduated.

The women, though, were upset by Utah Valley by seven points. Two then-freshmen – Greta Karinauskaite and Yasna Petrova – led the Lancers with second- and fifth-place finishes, respectively.

That added a measure of extra motivation for the CBU women.

“We want to take care of ourselves, so I think it’s one of those things where we have to stay focused on us and being the best version of ourselves we can be,” Tribble said.

With an underclassmen-dominated lineup back, CBU has powered its way through 2022 thus far.

The Lancers men were second Sept. 23 at the Roy Griak Invitational in Minnesota and Mechaal was the individual runner-up. The CBU women also placed runner-up, with Petrova third overall.

At Oklahoma State two weeks ago, the CBU women won – Petrova was second and Karinauskaite finished fifth – with the men finishing one point behind Montana State.

Cal Baptist has appeared to make the transition seamlessly, though one final bit of patience was needed. This year meant training for a later peak, with an eye toward Nov. 19 and the NCAA Division 1 Championships, instead of conference finals toward the end of October.

“This season, having more time to get the mileage you want ... even until now, it’s almost the end of October, and we can still do some good mileage,” Van Niekerk said. “It’s made a difference, it’s been tough, but I think it’s made a difference in our fitness.”

And the long-awaited moment is here.

“There’s a little bit more pressure but I think the team is ready,” Van Niekerk said. “I think they’ve been ready for a while now.

“We’ve done a lot to prove it,” he added. “We just have to do the last bits in the next couple of weeks.”

Everything, the Lancers said, is about getting to nationals and extending their season to a point they’ve never been before.

“Every day here for me is exciting,” said Petrova, representing Bulgaria. “I’ve always trusted in the team and in the process. So to me it’s exciting, but in a way I expected us to be good as a team because of the attitude in the practices and the smart process in our training.”

Following the conference championship, the West Regional is scheduled for Nov. 11 in University Place, Wash., with the Lancers looking to secure a return trip to the Greiner Family course at Oklahoma State in Stillwater for the NCAA final. 

“Right now,” LePallec said, “I wish I could extend it more.”