Photo by Leo Dela Cruz

CHINO, Calif. — Melissa Cerrillos finished 12th place overall to lead the University of La Verne women's cross country team at the SCIAC Championships at Prado Regional Park on Saturday.

Cerrillos, who has led the Leopards all season, finished the 6-kilometer course in 24 minutes, 22.25 seconds. By virtue of finishing in top-20, the Claremont native earns All-SCIAC honors for the first time in her career.

Melissa Cerrillos discussed her race and the opportunity to compete at regionals: pic.twitter.com/41cVS7RowI

— La Verne Leopards (@ULVAthletics) October 29, 2016

Finishing second among the Leopards was Kamalei Lee, who crossed the line in 26:33.39 in 46th place. Rachael Dela Cruz, who's been dealing with nagging injuries for most of the season, placed 71st with a time of 27:35.37.

Isabella Fernandez was 85th at 28:12.92 and Jesja Pham came in 106th with a time of 30:30.85 to round out La Verne's five scorers.

Courtney Oberholtz (31:38.07, 110th), Daisy Perez (31:42.21), Summer O'Brien (32:14.83, 112th) and Maria Castanon (35:06.63, 119th) completed La Verne's lineup.

The Leopards will return to action at NCAA West Regional in Salem, Oregon, hosted by Willamette.