LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Coming on the heels of a stellar indoor season, Azusa Pacific continues its outdoors dominance, competing at the Bob Larsen Distance Carnival last evening.

Eric Perez kicked off the action in the Elite section of the 1500m, posting a career-best time of 3:49.19 to finish ninth overall in a field stacked with Division I talent. His race follows a breakout indoor campaign in which he raced a career-best time of 4:07.53 in the mile at the Husky Classic.

The 3000m steeplechase featured notable performances from Janelle Santos and Avery Erickson. Santos came close to matching her career-best, running 11:49.19 to finish fourth overall. On the men's side, Erikson, a true freshman, impressed with a time of 9:29.08, marking his first-ever collegiate steeplechase after a standout cross-country season that included a trip to the DII National Championships.

In the 5000m, Jessica Kampman led the team with an impressive 16:43.15, securing third place overall. The time, which represents the sixth-fastest performance in program history, marks  35-second improvement over her previous career-best from her time at Dordt University.

Sofia Vasquez also had a standout race, cutting 18 seconds off her previous best to finish in 17:54. Next to cross the line were Sophia Godina (18:47) and Grace Echelbarger (19:09), who each raced their first 5ks of the season. Echelbarger notably set a personal-best in the event.

In the men's 5k, Jared Wright (14:28) and Kyle Galinis (14:30) finished fourth and fifth overall, respectively, working together throughout the race. Galinis shaved 23 seconds off his previous personal best, set at 14:53.25 during the 2024 3C2A California State Championships. Wright, competing in his first long-distance event of the season, delivered a strong performance, following up his impressive indoor 3k time of 8:09.56—the third-fastest in program history. Freshman Jonas Teeter also had a solid debut, finishing his first collegiate 5k in 14:50.23.

Up Next: Azusa Pacific, recently named the favorites to win their ninth consecutive PacWest Conference Championship on both the men's and women's sides, will compete at the Jim Bush Legends Meet, hosted by UCLA. Running events begin at 1:00 p.m., and live results can be followed HERE.