Nov. 10, 2000

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara men's and women's cross country teams will be participating at the NCAA District 9 Championships this weekend at Wooward Park in Fresno, Calif.

The women's race begins at 10 a.m., while the men's race is scheduled for an 11 a.m. start. Woodward Park was the site of the 1998 regionals, while last year's event was held in Portland, Ore.

The Bronco men's team is coming off a second-place finish in the West Coast Conference championships two weeks ago. The Broncos placed five runners in the top 16 in the individual standings to score 52 points, just 27 behind first-place Portland. Coach John Maloney was named West Coast Conference men's cross country coach of the year after leading the Broncos to its best team performance in the conference meet since 1986.

Charlie Brenneman (Roseville, Calif.) and junior Michael Helms (Poway, Calif.) will likely be the top two runners for the Broncos at this weekend's event and will be competing for the opportunity to advance to the NCAA Championships as individual entrants.

"I think our guys have the confidence and drive to perform well this weekend," said Maloney. "To peak at this meet is what we train all year for. Our guys understand that and I look for good things on Saturday from our team."

The Santa Clara women are coming off a fourth-place performance at the WCC meet, finishing just six points behind third-place Pepperdine. Sophomore Jenny Smokey (Minden, Nev.) finished in 10th-place with a 5k time of 19:24. Smokey was named to the all-WCC squad after finishing in the top 10 in the meet.

"We really didn't finish as well as I had hoped at the WCC meet, but the last two weeks of training have gone very well for us," said head women's coach Sandy Sanchez. "Our girls have been looking forward to this meet for two weeks and can't wait to gain redemption from the conference meet. I think we'll perform to our capabilities on Saturday."