Women take sixth, Reece in top-10 at SCIAC Championships
CHINO, Calif. – The Chapman University women's cross country team had its best SCIAC finish in school history and three men scored in the top-50 to highlight the SCIAC Cross Country Championship on Saturday at Prado Regional Park. Freshman Arabella Reece continued to pace the Panthers, becoming the first Chapman female to place in the top-10.
Reece took ninth overall with a 24:16.4 to pace the Panthers. With the top-10 finish, she became the first female Panther to land on the All-SCIAC First Team. Sophomore Emma Eglinton was the second Panther to cross the finish line in 38th place with a 25:42, beating her SCIAC Championship time from a year ago by over one minute.
Senior Nika Cokas took 47th overall, coming in with a time of 26:01.7. Another senior Mia Hernandez wasn't too far behind her classmate in 54th with a time of 26:26.6. Sophomore Montana Jelden rounded out the team scoring in 85th overall as she finished with a time of 28:07. Sophomore Ryly Yee finished with a time of 31:14.5
"We are so proud of our women's team performance," commented head coach DeAndra'e Woods. "The ladies went for it this morning and they are receiving the fruits of their labor."
Freshman Eli Haas paced the Panthers in the men's 8k race with a time 28:44.5, scoring 40 points in 66th place. Sophomore Drake Butler was the next Panther across the finish line at 29:18.4 in 79th overall. Freshman Ben Clark was the third Panther to finish, coming in at 30:23.5.
A group of five Panthers came in within a minute of each other to finish off the season. Sophomore Jose Guerrero finished at 32:00.5 to round out the Panthers team score in 107th overall. Freshman Enrique Brenes was the next runner across at 32:06.
"We as a staff are so pleased with our men's performance this year. Eli came out strong to lead our guys this morning," said Woods. "This year has been a great building block for our young men. With 7 newcomers in our program and 2 returners we believe that the future is bright with these gentlemen."
The women's team totaled 160 points to take sixth place in the standings – the lowest total for the Panthers at the SCIAC Championships since joining the conference in 2012. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps claimed the team title. On the men's side, Chapman took ninth with 249 total points. Pomona-Pitzer won the men's team title.
Chapman will take seven total runners to the Division III West Region Championships next week in Walla Walla, Wash. Haas, Butler and Clark will represent the men's team while Reece, Eglinton. Cokas and Hernandez will represent the women's team.
By Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director
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