BREA, Calif. - Annika Carlson continued to lead the Chapman University cross country teams at the season-opening Mark Covert Classic on Saturday. The 2023 All-American took 11th place with the second-fastest 5k time in program history. 

Carlson ran an 18:12.9 to finish just outside the top-10 and lead the women's team in the 5k race. Chapman finished 10th as a team with a time average of 20:05. Freshman Rayna Carranza made her Chapman debut as the second-fastest runner to cross the finish line in 20:15.0. Brenda Daza wasn't far behind at 20:21.6 and freshman Allison Hoffman was next at 20:29.3. 

The men's team also took 10th as a team. In the first 8k race of the year, Gavin White led the way for the Panthers with a time of 26:00.2 in 62nd place. Alejandro Aguirre Ramirez was next to cross the finish line at 26:30.1. Gil Bothwell and Lorenzo Collier finished less than a second apart at 27:06.7 and 27:07.3, respectively. 

The Panthers settled into the season with their first race but will return to training for the next four weeks before competing again at the UCR Invitational on Sep. 21.