Claremont-Mudd-Scripps student-athletes aren’t just smart. They’re fast, too.
The CMS men’s and women’s cross country teams dominated the field on Saturday morning to capture the team titles at the Coyote Challenge on the Cal State San Bernardino campus’ multiple-loop course.
The Stags’ men opened their 2025 season with the best possible score (15 points) and had the top five collegiate finishers over the 8,000-meter grass-and-dirt terrain setup.
In his first competitive race after studying abroad last year, senior Hayden Beauchemin posted a personal best and was second overall in 24 minutes, 57 seconds to lead a whole herd of Stags across the finish line as the CMS men team placed seven runners inside the Top 10.
The CMS record holder in the steeplechase, Beauchemin’s previous best in the 8,000 was 25:06 at the UC Riverside Invitational in 2023.
CMS sophomores Jerry Xu (25:04.3), Jacob Pippel (25:10.9) and Pierce Clark (25:11.6) rounded out the Top 5 as CMS finished ahead of Redlands (81), Riverside City College (83) and La Verne (97).
Also returning after studying abroad this spring, senior Riley Capuano paced the 5,000-meter women’s course in a new personal best of 17:53.3, and senior teammate Elle Marsyla finished second (18:00.4) as the Athenas claimed victory with 18 points after eight runners placed inside the Top 10.
A two-time NCAA Division III all-American, Capuano was last year’s SCIAC athlete of their year after winning the league championship and helping the Athenas to their 14th consecutive team title.
CMS junior Sadie Drucker (18:13.3) was fourth, sophomore Jie Yi Denise Chen (18:19.1) was fifth, senior Sara Wexler (18:21.5) was sixth, sophomore Brannan Rosenfeld (18:29.2) was seventh, and sophomore Olivia Backholm (18:35.9) was eighth.
Cal State San Bernardino senior Kai Marroquin (18:37.5) was ninth, but CMS’ runners Emily Kendrick (18:47.9) and Sally Gaskell (18:50.6) were 10th and 11th, respectively, as the Athenas ran past teams from CSUSB (81), Redlands (124), La Verne (145), RCC (174) and Mt. San Jacinto College (205).
Both Beauchemin and Capuano were selected SCIAC athlete of the week for their performances.
CMS, Redlands and La Verne runners advance to the Division III Pre-Nationals in Spartanburg, S.C. on Sept. 20.
HIGHLANDERS HOLDING THE LINE
The UC Riverside men’s soccer team is impenetrable lately.
Three days after a 2-0 victory at UNLV on Friday, graduate student Edward Castro scored early and added an assist as the Highlanders returned home with a 2-0 win over San Diego State on Monday night.
Redshirt freshman Andrew Hermosillo earned his second consecutive shutout, and coach Tim Cupello’s side has two wins and a draw from its last three matches.
UCR continues its five-match home stand with youth day at UCR Soccer Stadium against Northwestern on Monday at 11 a.m.
LANCERS POLO POSTS BIG WINS
The California Baptist men’s water polo team wrapped up its East Coast trip with a pair of wins over ranked teams at the Princeton Tournament.
Freshman Whitley Beamon had two goals and three assists as No. 14-ranked CBU beat No. 16 Harvard 18-13, and junior goalie Trent DeLeeuw made 15 saves as the Lancers knocked off No. 19 George Washington 18-16 in overtime. Sophomore Andrea Nuzzo had three goals in each match.
CBU (5-3 overall) returns home for its home opener at Lancers Aquatic Center against Biola on Sept. 11.
LACEY JOINS BRONCOS HOOPS
Cassandra Lacey has agreed to join the coaching staff of the Cal Poly Pomona women’s basketball team.
Lacey, a University of Redlands graduate and one of the program’s all-time best players, recently served as an assistant at Cal State Fullerton and previously coached at both Pomona-Pitzer and Redlands.
Lacey ranks in the Top 10 in career points, assists, and starts at Redlands. A 1,000-point scorer for her career, she was a two-time first team all-SCIAC, and All-West region selection and the 2020 SCIAC athlete of the year after leading the Bulldogs the SCIAC tournament title, an NCAA Tournament berth and a first round win.
ODDS & ENDS
CMS senior defense end Michael Houk was selected SCIAC defensive player of the week after recording six tackles, three for losses, with two sacks as the Stags football team opened the season with a 14-7 victory over Lake Forest on Saturday, Sept. 6. … The La Verne volleyball team is ranked No. 7 in Division III after dominating the Whittier Invitational, winning matches over Whitworth, Whitman and UC Santa Cruz to stay unbeaten (6-0 overall) on the season. … Reigning SCIAC offensive player of the year Hannah Hong scored the breakthrough in the 17th minute as the Pomona-Pitzer women’s soccer team shut out Pacific Lutheran 1-0 on Sunday, Sept. 7. … Freshman defender Jayro Dominguez (Norte Vista High) scored a late equalizer as the San Bernardino Valley College men’s soccer team earned a 2-2 draw against San Diego City in its home opener last week.
