IRVINE, Calif. – The PacWest Conference Men's Cross Country Championship took place on Saturday at the Orange County Great Park, and the Vanguard men finished sixth among 11 teams to conclude their inaugural season at the NCAA Division 2 level.

The Lions finished with 188 points, outclassing Academy of Art, Dominican, Hawaii Pacific, Jessup and Chaminade.

Senior Evan Hernandez took his familiar position atop the Lion lineup as he placed 36th overall in 25 minutes, 44.8 seconds in his final collegiate race.

Making nearly a 20 second improvement on his personal-best, Cooper Anderson was the next Blue and Gold finisher in 40th place. Anderson traversed the 8K course in 25:50.8, the first time he raced the distance under 26 seconds. He set his previous PR the week before at the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational in 26:09.4.

"Probably the highlight on the day for individuals was Cooper Anderson," said Head Coach Bryan Wilkins. "He ran 25:50 which was an amazing effort for him on this course."

A pair of sophomores followed for the Lions, as Ommar Arroyo (26:22.9) and Jesse O'Campo (26:44.7) finished in 49th and 51st place, respectively.

Freshman Caleb Dickerson finished fifth among Lions and in 54th place overall with a time of 26:53.6.

Anthony Kennen (28:36.6) and Josiah Kirby (29:10.4) rounded out the Lion competitors.

The Lions posted the second-fastest team time of the season.

Azusa Pacific won the team title with 29 points. The Cougars had the two top individual finishers, including champion Jared Wright in 23:51.7 and Felix Perrier (24:00.4) as the runner-up.

What Was Said?: "The men ran perhaps their best race of the season and Evan led the way," said Wilkins. "He has had an amazing career. We knew it was going to be a little bit of a long stretch to catch Fresno Pacific, who is a really good team and seeded fifth. I felt like the guys ran exceptionally well, so we're very happy with those sixth place finishes for the first time in the PacWest."