| Fresno - Natalie Perkins sizzling 5,00 meter course record powered the Concordia (Irvine) University Eagles to their second consecutive NAIA Region 2 Cross Country Championship at Woodward Park.
The Eagles, under head coach Martin Gonzalez, placed their top five runners in the top fourteen to claim five spots on the All-Region 2 Team. They easily out-pointed the second place Mountain Lions of Cal State San Marcos (46-93).
Perkins' 17:09 mark was a full 19 seconds under Brianna Carstensen's 17:28 set last year.
The Eagles men, lead by Carlos Handler's second place finish, cruised to the championship in the men's 8,000 meter race. Handler (25:24) was 18 seconds off the winning time of Aaron Megazzi of Westmont in Santa Barbara.
The Eagles men claimed six of the top nine spots to win easily with a low score of 26. Second-place Azusa Pacific finished with 81 points.
The host Sunbirds, paced by Melissa Dowlat (19:21, 23rd place) and Benny Madrigal (26:05, 18th place) finished eighth in the women's team competition and seventh in the men's division.
Gonzalez, who coaches both the Eagles men's and women's teams, was named the Region 2 Coach of the Year divisions.
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