Point Loma Nazarene University’s Cross Country Team has put up one of its best seasons in recent history. After finishing second in the PacWest Championships, the Sea Lions finished sixth in the NCAA West Regional early this month, their best placement since 2018.
Maddie Reeves, a fourth-year runner and PLNU record holder, qualified for nationals by breaking her own 6K record yet again, posting a time of 20:32. Reeves is the first national qualifier PLNU has had since Hannah Benoit Boucher in 2017.
Though Reeves qualified for nationals individually, the team did not, as they were one place shy of punching their ticket.
“This season, our ultimate goal was to qualify as a team to nationals for the first time in seven years,” Bree Gentry, a fourth-year runner, said. “We fell just shy of that goal, by one place at the regional meet, but we had one individual, Maddie Reeves, qualify. Her representation of Point Loma at the national level is an amazing accomplishment, and the entire team is so proud of her.”
In her first West Regional outing in 2022, Reeves finished 111th of 168 runners. This year, in a field of more than 190 runners, Reeves finished fourth individually.
“I think the secret to my success over the years has been consistency,” Reeves said. “I didn’t see immediate results during my first two years on the team, but I kept showing up to practice and putting in the work day after day … I started achieving things I never would’ve thought possible when I first joined.”
Gentry said she and the team are proud of how far Reeves has come and how her success has had a positive impact on the team.
“I think that the team is most proud of Maddie and how she has progressed and leveled up,” Gentry said. “Like we always say, when one of us gets better, we all get better, and Maddie is such a great example of the expectations and goals we have for this program.”
Two of the Sea Lions’ more recent breakouts, fourth-year Zaila Smith — who transferred from Middle Tennessee State last year and made All-PacWest Second Team last season — finished second and placed 43rd, and first-year Jocelyn Gibson finished third and placed 60th, respectively. Gentry finished three spots behind Gibson in 63rd, followed by fourth-year Elizabeth Satterlee and first-year Michelle Ramos in 70th and 71st, and fourth-year transfer Lia Markert in 92nd.
Head Coach Jake Poyner is in his second season at the helm, and Reeves cited his leadership as a major factor in her personal and the team’s success.
“Coach Poyner has brought a sense of belief to this team that we were missing,” Reeves said. “He’s taught us that our bodies are capable of so much more than we think, and that what we tell ourselves — and each other — can make all the difference in our races. He always reminds us that mentality comes before reality … His constant support and belief in me have made me more confident in my own abilities.”
Though she didn’t end her career the way she hoped to, with the team making nationals, Satterlee said she is proud of the program and the way it’s improved since her first season in 2022. But it’s the team camaraderie that she’ll miss the most.
“My teammates are going to be my lifelong friends,” Satterlee said. “After four years of countless workouts and long runs, we have become so close and truly run for each other every time we get on the start line.”
Reeves will be competing in the NCAA Championships on Nov. 22 in Kenosha, Wis. The women’s 6K will start at 8 a.m. PST.
Savannah Smith