Panthers get first taste of SCIAC Championship action

CHINO, Calif. – For the first time as part of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, the Chapman University cross country team competed in the SCIAC Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Prado Park in Chino.

Sophomore Paulette Garcia had the top time for Chapman's women's team finishing the 6k in 29:36.29. For the women, it was the third time this season in seven races that they competed in the 6k distance. The other runner to place for the Chapman women was freshman Nicole Jourdain with a time of 30:38.91. Anne Lydens from Pomona-Pitzer won the event with a time of 23:11.10 while Claremont-Mudd-Scripps won the team event.

For the sixth time in seven races this season, freshman Spencer Berry paced the Chapman men. On Saturday Berry came in with a time of 29:14.98 in the 8k. Freshman Chad King (30:07.49), junior Angel Flores (30:59.02), junior Zac Campbell (32:19.89), sophomore Kevin Tatlock (32:27.96) and freshman Alex Fichera (33:47.71) rounded out the field for the Panthers.

Occidental's Eric Kleinsasser won the individual event and three Occidental runners finished in the top-10 to win the SCIAC Cross Country Championships for the men.

While Chapman runners did compete, their times did not count officially because it was a SCIAC championship event and Chapman teams and individuals are not eligible for conference championships until next season.

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by Chris Watts
Sports Information Assistant

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