THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – It was a busy day for Cal Lutheran teams as three teams competed at away venues. Men's soccer competed in the NCAA Division III Soccer Tournament, cross country ran at the NCAA Division III West Regional and swimming and diving took on Occidental.
Big news from the day was men's cross country runner Timmy Kahovec placing 16th at the NCAA Division III West Regional Championships and earning All-West Region honors. He qualified for the 2017 NCAA Division III Men's Cross Country Championships. Swimming and diving's Mardell Ramirez made news as well as she set a new program record in the 200-yard back.
Kingsmen Soccer (LC 4, CLU 2)
The Cal Lutheran men's soccer team saw its season come to an end after a 4-2 loss to Loras College in the first round of the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship at South Field in Saint Paul, Minn.
The Kingsmen started off on the right foot as Joey Arnold fired a first time shot past the Loras goalkeeper just two minutes into the game. He rceived the ball from Brandon Kearney who had raced down the right wing and delivered a cross to pick up the assist.
The Duhawks quickly equalized in the 17th minute when Javi Simon finished off a pass from Spencer Moore to level the score at 1-1. Loras took the lead three minutes later as Simon picked up his second goal of the match.
Loras went on to score two more times before the end of the first half on goals from Mike Perhats and Danny Chavarria. The teams would head into the break with the score at 4-1.
The Violet and Gold showed some fight in the 68th minute as Arnold continued his great goal-scoring form and put the ball into the back of the net for the second time. Diego Ortega tallied the assist as the Kingsmen cut the deficit to two goals.
The heavily contested match caused some physical play from both sides. Cody Collins and Loras' Tigrio Huerta were both shown red cards in the 87th minute. Chris Ortiz was also sent off in the 90th minute and Cal Lutheran would have to finish the match with only nine players on the pitch.
The Kingsmen fired 14 shots as the Duhawks took six shots. Arnold contributed three shots on goal and Ortega picked up one of his own.
Cal Lutheran (13-5-2, 9-3-2 SCIAC) finished its season with a SCIAC Postseason Tournament Title in Head Coach Dan Kuntz's final season. The team reached the 13-win mark and made their first NCAA postseason appearance since 2013.
Kingsmen Cross Country (Place: 14th – Results)
The Cal Lutheran men's cross country team traveled to Occidental, Calif., for the NCAA Division III West Regional Championships. Kahovec finished 16th and earned All-West Region honors as he led the Kingsmen to a 14th-place finish out of 20 teams.
Kahovec crossed the line with a quick time of 25 minutes and 58.55 seconds to earn the region honors. He qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships as the first seven student-athletes from each region, who are not a part of a qualifying team, were selected to participate. Teammates Nikita Khromets came in 51st with a time on 27:18.20, Christian Rider was 78th with 27:57.96 and Henry Friederichs finished 88th with 28:16. 64. Rounding out the top-five for the Kingsmen was Rigo Baza Carillo who came in 89th-place with a time of 28:17.82.
Regals Cross Country (Place: 18th – Results)
The Cal Lutheran women's cross country team also made the trip to Iccidental, Calif., for the NCAA Division III West Regional Championships. Rachel Ereso was the top finisher for the Regals and placed 40th as the team finished 18th out of 20 teams.
Ereso just missed the cutoff for All-West Region honors, as the top-35 are awarded. She passed the line at 23:31.36. Katie Young was the second Regal to finish as she placed 85th at 24:57.43. Mariah Mercado and Erin MacNeil placed 105th and 111th with times of 25:41.99 and 25:51.63, respectively. Rounding out the top-five was Kylie Rodriguez in 121st with a time of 26:33.05.
Kingsmen Swimming and Diving (CLU 129, CU 82)
The Cal Lutheran men's swimming and diving traveled Orange, Calif., to take on the Chapman Panthers in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletics Conference (SCIAC) dual meet. The Kingsmen won nine events as they defeated the Panthers 129-82.
Jonah Hobbs, Jacob Frigard and Andreas Nybo led the Kingsmen with two event titles apiece. Hobbs claimed the 200- and 500-yard freestyles with times of 1:47.57 and 4:49.37, respectively. Frigard took home the 50-yard free with a time of 20.79 and the 100-yard free with 47.83. Nybo swam to victory in the 200-yard butterfly with 1:55.72 and the 200-yard breaststroke with 2:15.15.
Benjamin Brewer claimed one event for the Kingsmen and took home the 1,650-yard free. The men also won the 400-yard medley relay and the 400-yard free relay.
Regals Swimming and Diving (CLU 112, CU 109)
The Cal Lutheran womens swimming and diving team joined the men in Orange, Calif., as the Regals knocked off the Chapman Panthers 112-109 in a SCIAC dual meet. Mardell Ramirez, Melody Pope and Grace Sanchez led the women's squad with two individual titles.
Ramirez raced to a program record in the 200-yard backstroke wuth a quick time of 2:07.21. She also calimed the 200-yard free with a time of 1:53.50.
Pope claimed her event titles in the 500- and 1,650-yard free with times of 5:26.09 and 18:42.73, respectively. Sanchez won the 50-yard free with 24.72 and the 100-yard free with 55.43.
Alexia Rojas added one more individual win as she claimed the 200-yard fly with 2:14.32.
The dual meet came down to one final event. The Regals swam away with the 112-109 victory as Paulina Cordera, Ramirez, Rojas and Sanchez won the 400-yard free with a time of 3:41.54.
The season continues for the swimming and diving teams as they travel to Occidental, Calif., for a dual meet with Oxy Saturday at 10:30 a.m.
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Assistant Sports Information Director
