After only being able to compete at Western Athletic Conference finals for years following transition from NCAA Division 2, Lancers are primed 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…
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