Chavez Blasts Program-Record 5k Mark, Aggie Women Make Strides at Spire Challenge
March 22, 2026
OPSU Women's Results
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. The Oklahoma Panhandle State women's track & field team showed improvement across the board and finished 10th as a team at the USM Spire Distance Carnival and Team Challenge, held Friday and Saturday.
A pair of program records were set Friday night, as Shania Chavez stole the show in the 5,000-meters. The Zuni, New Mexico, native raced to a time of 19:25.11, resetting the outdoor mark by well over a minute.
"(Chavez') last 2k, 2 1/2k, she just turned on the juice and went for it. Very proud of her," head coach Cyrus Hall said.
Carolina Valenzuela set the other program mark, running alongside Lillyan Gerow as the women ran their first 3,000-meter steeplechase in program history. Valenzuela took eighth place with her 12:52.26, and Gerow snagged 10th by crossing in 13:03.59.
"Crushed it tonight. & The distance runners were great, I'm proud of them," Hall said.
On Saturday, Breyanna Kemp shined by leading the Aggies in both the 200- and 400-meters. She ran a wind-aided time of 25.76 to take seventh place and 59.22 seconds for third place in the events, respectively.
Paizlie Reyna-Mata earned OPSU a point by claiming eighth in the 200-meters with a PR of 25.93 seconds. Meanwhile, Ki'Anna Jones and Valenzuela took ninth and 10th in the 400-meters, respectively, racing to strong times of 1:02.49 and 1:03.48.
Jones broke the 2:30 mark for the first time in the 800-meters, clocking a 2:28.42.
Panhandle State's 4x100-meter relay team improved to complete the race in 48.69 seconds. The time was good for third place, notching six points for the squad on the legs of Akia Bowens, Reyna-Mata, Kemp and Ashlynn Perez.
"Our women's 4x100 dropped almost a second and a half from last week to this week," Hall said. "They just ran better, ran faster. I thought we performed really well."
Avery Brown led the Aggies in both the discus and hammer throw. Brown and Brittney Carrasco both made strides in the hammer, taking 11th and 12th with distances of 35.89 and 35.26 meters, respectively.
Coach Hall's Thoughts: "I like where our team's at, we're starting to get hot at the right time. We're not quite where we want be yet, but I think we're really close. The corner's sort of been turned, and the lid's been popped off a little bit, and now we're starting to see some good things, confidence is going up."
What's up next: OPSU is off for a week before traveling to South Plains College for the SPC Alumni Elite Invitational on Friday, April 3.
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. The Oklahoma Panhandle State women's track & field team showed improvement across the board and finished 10th as a team at the USM Spire Distance Carnival and Team Challenge, held Friday and Saturday.
A pair of program records were set Friday night, as Shania Chavez stole the show in the 5,000-meters. The Zuni, New Mexico, native raced to a time of 19:25.11, resetting the outdoor mark by well over a minute.
"(Chavez') last 2k, 2 1/2k, she just turned on the juice and went for it. Very proud of her," head coach Cyrus Hall said.
Carolina Valenzuela set the other program mark, running alongside Lillyan Gerow as the women ran their first 3,000-meter steeplechase in program history. Valenzuela took eighth place with her 12:52.26, and Gerow snagged 10th by crossing in 13:03.59.
"Crushed it tonight. & The distance runners were great, I'm proud of them," Hall said.
On Saturday, Breyanna Kemp shined by leading the Aggies in both the 200- and 400-meters. She ran a wind-aided time of 25.76 to take seventh place and 59.22 seconds for third place in the events, respectively.
Paizlie Reyna-Mata earned OPSU a point by claiming eighth in the 200-meters with a PR of 25.93 seconds. Meanwhile, Ki'Anna Jones and Valenzuela took ninth and 10th in the 400-meters, respectively, racing to strong times of 1:02.49 and 1:03.48.
Jones broke the 2:30 mark for the first time in the 800-meters, clocking a 2:28.42.
Panhandle State's 4x100-meter relay team improved to complete the race in 48.69 seconds. The time was good for third place, notching six points for the squad on the legs of Akia Bowens, Reyna-Mata, Kemp and Ashlynn Perez.
"Our women's 4x100 dropped almost a second and a half from last week to this week," Hall said. "They just ran better, ran faster. I thought we performed really well."
Avery Brown led the Aggies in both the discus and hammer throw. Brown and Brittney Carrasco both made strides in the hammer, taking 11th and 12th with distances of 35.89 and 35.26 meters, respectively.
Coach Hall's Thoughts: "I like where our team's at, we're starting to get hot at the right time. We're not quite where we want be yet, but I think we're really close. The corner's sort of been turned, and the lid's been popped off a little bit, and now we're starting to see some good things, confidence is going up."
What's up next: OPSU is off for a week before traveling to South Plains College for the SPC Alumni Elite Invitational on Friday, April 3.
