Johnny leads Leopards at SCIAC Championships

Photo by Leo Dela Cruz

CHINO, CA – The University of La Verne men's cross country team finished in 6^th place at the 2018 SCIAC Cross Country Championships. 

From the Coach

"We came up short of our goal of top-five for both men and women. The meet is extremely competitive and it was going to take a perfect day for La Verne to reach those goals. They have worked extremely hard to prepare and so I believe we have more left in us for NCAA Regionals in two weeks," said Head Coach Justin Wood.

How it Happened

Senior Samuel Johnny who had been running in second or third on the Leopards squad most of the season stepped up to lead the Leopards on Saturday. The men got out hard, with Jeremiah Alarcon leading the entire field early on in the race. Unlike the traditionally strong-packing usually seen, the men's team was spread out throughout the race.  Johnny finished the 8k course in 35^th place (27:46.0) with sophomore Matthew Salas (28:06.1) and Jeremiah Alarcon (28:19.2) following close behind.  Kyle Regret (28:57.7) and Aidan Garcia (29:09.3) rounded out the top-five for the men.

Next Race

The Leopards look to come back stronger in Walla Walla, Washington at Veterans Memorial Golf Course on Saturday, November 10 for the 2018 NCAA West Regionals.

Leopard Spotlight on Coach Wood