Rookies lead Chapman to seventh place finish at Championships

CHINO, Calif. – The Chapman University men's and women's cross country teams finished seventh at the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Championship meet held at Prado Park on Saturday. The Panthers were led by freshmen Avery Cardosi and Elijah Orr who helped the women's team finish with 174 points and the men's team score 179.

Orr continued to pace Chapman in the Panthers final meet of the season as he placed 12th out of 134 with a mark of 26:42.64 to earn All-SCIAC Second Team. He also completed the meet as the second quickest freshman just 20 seconds behind Thomas D'Anieri from Claremont-M-S who finished fifth.

Freshman Ben Wasserman finished 40th with a final mark of 27:54.83 and freshman Drake Butler finished 58th with a final mark of 28:38.88. Rookie Tomas Aragone finished 60th just two spots behind Butler with a final mark of 28:43.18.

The men's team earned an average time of 28:10.39 and had all freshman finish as their top six racers. The Panthers shaved a full two minutes off their 2015 SCIAC Championship average time of 30:13.24 which landed them ninth.

On the women's side Cardosi continued to excel, finishing 26:18.85. Cardosi finished 23rd out of 119 and was one of the top-three freshman finishers in the conference meet.

Seniors Cathryne Ramirez and Jessica Selby finished in the top-50. Ramirez finished 43rd with a final time of 26:20.46 and Selby finished 49th with a final mark of 26:36.36. The Panthers earned a final average time of 26:25.97.

The Claremont-Mudd-Sripps men's and women's cross country team's swept the 2016 SCIAC Cross Country Championships for the fifth consecutive year. Maya Weigel of Pomona-Pitzer defender her SCIAC title earning first place with a final time of 22:39.04 in the 6K while Julian Sandoval earned the title for Whittier with a final mark of 25:48.77 in the 8k. 

Next up is the NCAA Division III West Regional Meet on Saturday, November 12 in Salem, Ore. hosted by Willamette.  

by Raquel Rinauro
Sports Information Assistant

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