WALNUT, Calif. – No Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference track and field distance event record is safe right now.
On Friday, Lenore Moreno shattered a 32-year old SCIAC record in the 5,000 meters at the 56th annual Mt. San Antonio College Relays, claiming her section of the race with a time of 16 minutes, 28.26 seconds.
Moreno's mark is nearly 10 seconds faster than the previous record, set by Cindy Nagle of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in 1982.
The senior also bettered the La Verne standard by about 46 seconds. The La Verne record was set in 1993 by Janice Krich.
Moreno's time currently ranks second in Division III. Cara DeAngelis of Ohio Wesleyan ran a 16:25.30 at the Jesse Owens Track Classic on Saturday. The third fastest runner, Maryann Gong, is nearly 17 seconds behind.
It's almost as if Moreno has no peer in Division III at the moment. There were no other Division III runners in her section and Moreno finished second overall in the college/university division.
Moreno is one of the favorites to win the 5,000 meters at the SCIAC Championships on May 2-3, which will be the next meet in which she will compete. Melissa Skiba of Cal Lutheran, who has the fourth fastest time in the country, will be the closest competitor. Skiba recorded a 16:46.80 at the Occidental Distance Carnival on March 14.
On April 4, Moreno posted the third-fastest time in Division III history in the 10,000 meters at the Stanford Invitational, but the event is not a part of the SCIAC Championships.
In March, Moreno won the 5,000 meters in the 2014 NCAA Division III Indoor National Championship with a meet-record time of 16:32.85.
The 2014 Outdoor Track and Field National Championships will be held in Delaware, Ohio on May 22-24.
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