Freshmen lead Chapman again at Vanguard Invite

COSTA MESA, Calif. – Freshman runner Nicole Jourdain ran her fastest race of the season in the 5K and another freshman Spencer Berry was the men's top finisher for Chapman for the fourth time this season as the Panthers placed 12th out of 12 men's teams at the Vanguard Invitational on Saturday morning.

Jourdain continued to improve her speed, completing the 5K in a time of 22:41 and finishing in 109th place overall. The rookie runner has run the Panthers' best time in each of the team's past three races. Closely behind her were sophomores Paulette Garcia and Kelly Kneis with finishing times of 23:03 and 23:15, respectively. The Chapman women did not have enough finishers to qualify to score as a team.

On the men's side, Berry continued to lead the Panther pack with a running time of 28:54 in the 8K and in 79th place overall. However, the rest of his Chapman teammates nearly caught him as three Panthers crossed the finished line within 36 seconds of the freshman. Fellow rookie Chad King came in 83rd place with a time of 29:02, just 8 seconds back of Berry, followed by Zach Campbell (29:27) and Angel Flores (29:28).

The Master's College won the men's race with an average 8K time of 25:50.8. Azusa Pacific University captured first place on the women's side.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

Complete Results: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/xc/2011-12/files/VUInvite.pdf