Reece debuts with top-5 finish

FULLERTON, Calif. – Freshman Arabella Reece paced the Chapman University cross country teams with a top-5 finish at the Biola Invitational on Saturday. The women's team took sixth behind Reece's top time while the men's team took fifth.

Reece narrowly missed the Chapman 5K record with an 18:46.65 in her first collegiate meet. She finished fifth out of the 84 runners from Division II, Division III and the NAIA. Sophomore Emma Eglinton took 52nd with a time of 21:03.67. Senior Mia Hernandez was the next Panther to cross the finish line at 21:07.54 in 54th. Fellow senior Nika Cokas wasn't far behind in 59th with a 21:29.67.

Sophomores Montana Jelden and Ryly Yee rounded out the Panthers runners in 73rd and 76th, respectively. Jelden finished at 23:44.29 and Yee at 25:15.25.

Junior Drake Butler was the top finisher on the men's side, coming in 20th with a 27:01.41 in the 8K race. Three freshmen were the next to finish for the youthful Panthers squad – all finishing in a 30-second time span. Ben Clark was the first newcomer to finish at 28:28.85 in 40th. Eli Haas came in 45th with a 28:55.76 and Enrique Brenes was right behind him in 46th with a 28:59.46.

Senior Jonah Soltes finished out the Panthers scoring with a 29:56.48 in 52nd. Three more Panthers made their Chapman debuts on the course with freshman Davis Carmichael,  sophomore Emerson Klump and sophomore Jose Guerrero each running the 8K as well.

The Panthers are back out on the course early next Saturday at the UCR Invitational in Riverside, Calif.

By Steven Olveda        
Sports Information Director

Become a fan of Chapman Athletics on Facebook
Follow Chapman Athletics on Twitter @ChapmanSports
Post your #PantherPic to Instagram @ChapmanSports