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Avery Bravo and Angelica Espinoza compete at the 2026 SCIAC Championships in Claremont, CA.

Christian Magdaleno

Men's Cross Country 10/30/2026 2:32:00 PM Christian Magdaleno

Leopards Dominate Program Records at SCIAC Championship, Cortez Earns All-SCIAC

CLAREMONT, CA – The University of La Verne's cross-country teams closed out the conference in dominant fashion at the SCIAC Championships at the Pomona College Course in Claremont, Friday morning.

The men's team, led by senior Fernando Cortez Jr., placed sixth of the nine teams competing in the 8K race.

Cortez led the way with a 20th-place finish and a top-7 all-time performance for the Leopards at the Pomona College course, earning Second-Team All-SCIAC recognition.

Seniors Joseph Chavarria and Noah Ramos crossed the finish line together as the next two Leopards to score, as they both maintained a steady pace throughout the race. Ramos recorded another consistent race for the books, coming in seven seconds shy of his personal record.

Freshman Jamari Eisenberg had a breakout performance in his first championship race, shattering his previous 8K record by 13 seconds.

Junior Diego Herrera finished as the final scorer for the Leopards, coming in as a pack with his teammates Logan Ciszek and Dillon Burhop, who stuck together the whole way through.

The women's team recorded an eighth-place finish in the 6K race, with freshmen Angelica Espinoza and Avery Bravo notching their way back into the Leopards' record books.

Espinoza claimed the eighth all-time fastest 6K performance by a Leopard at the Pomona-Pitzer course, 13 seconds shy of her fastest race, and Bravo followed shortly behind to claim the ninth spot in the record books.

Juniors Ashley Kodama, CC Flaherty and Chloe Chong came in as a pack, with seniors Kaliah Ramirez and Jaiden Kelly following shortly after.

Sophomore Mariah Huizar and junior Jessika Paulson closed out the final two scorers for the Leopards.

The Leopards conclude their season with high marks and display their future potential with this season's rising stars.

"The future is bright," said La Verne cross country head coach Rob Lander.

The Leopards will compete next at the NCAA West Region Championships at The Course in Spokane, WA, on Saturday, November 14.

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Players Mentioned

Chloe Chong: 5' 1"; Junior

Mariah Huizar: Sophomore

Jaiden Kelly: 5' 4"; Senior

Jessika Paulson: 5' 6"; Senior

Kaliah Ramirez: 5' 3"; Senior

Avery Bravo: 5' 2"; Freshman

Angelica Espinoza: 5' 6"; Freshman

CC Flaherty: 5' 7"; Senior

Ashley Kodama: Junior

Joseph Chavarria: 5' 5"; Senior

Logan Ciszek: 6' 0"; Junior

Fernando Cortez Jr.: Senior

Players Mentioned

Chloe Chong
: 5' 1"; Junior

Mariah Huizar
: Sophomore

Jaiden Kelly
: 5' 4"; Senior

Jessika Paulson
: 5' 6"; Senior

Kaliah Ramirez
: 5' 3"; Senior

Avery Bravo
: 5' 2"; Freshman

Angelica Espinoza
: 5' 6"; Freshman

CC Flaherty
: 5' 7"; Senior

Ashley Kodama
: Junior

Joseph Chavarria
: 5' 5"; Senior

Logan Ciszek
: 6' 0"; Junior

Fernando Cortez Jr.
: Senior