Reece shatters school 5k record

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Freshman Arabella Reece took down the school record for the women's 5k as she paced the Chapman University cross country teams at the UCR Invitational on Saturday. Reece bettered the previous record by 30 seconds.

Reece crossed the finish line at 18:09.1 to take 14th in the open 5k race. She was nearly 40 seconds better than her race from a week ago that also paced the Panthers' women's team and obliterated the previous record of 18:39.7 set by Sara Wanous in 2013.

Senior Mia Hernandez was the next Panther to cross the finish line in 107th at 20:01.4 and was followed by Nika Cokas in 131st at 20:21.9. Sophomore Emma Eglinton placed 146th was the fourth Panther across in 146th at 20:41.4 and sophomore Montana Jelden rounded out the Panthers team scoring in 191st at 22:29.6. Chapman finished 16th as a team.

"We are very satisfied with our results this morning. On the men's side we were aggressive at the beginning of the race (which was our plan). With a group of young runners on the squad they are still getting the hang of the jump to the 8k race. We are looking forward to see how they adjust," said head coach De'Andra'e Woods. "On the women's side Arabella sent for it today. She is competing well and we will continue to make improvement in the hunt durning the championship meets. Our women overall are working well in races together and it will benefit us greatly at the end of the season."

The Panther men took 15th as a team in the men's open 8k. Freshman Ben Clark paced the Panthers with a 27:36.4 to finish 87th overall. Freshman Eli Haas took 157th with a 29:31.1 and freshman Enrique Brenes was 162nd when he crossed the finish line at 29:35.6. Senior Jonah Soltes was right behind him at 29:41.2 and freshman Davis Carmichael finished in the pack with 29:52.7 to take 165th.

Chapman heads back to the Inland Empire next week for another Saturday morning race at the Coyote Challenge in San Bernardino, Calif.