Nov. 11, 2000
FRESNO, Calif. - The Santa Clara men's and women's cross country teams ended their seasons Saturday at the NCAA West Regionals at Woodward Park in Fresno, Calif.
The women's team placed 23rd overall and third among West Coast Conference squads. There were a total of 26 teams entered in the 6k women's division. The Broncos defeated Pepperdine, a team that finished ahead of Santa Clara at the WCC championships two weeks ago, by nearly 100 points.
Sophomore Jenny Smokey continued to lead the Broncos, finishing 103rd overall with a time of 23:15. Annie Gastelum was second on the squad with a time of 23:33.
The men's team finished 18th overall out of 24 teams and second among WCC schools. Despite a sub-par performance due to an abdominal strain from senior Charlie Brenneman, the Broncos defeated San Diego and Pepperdine from the WCC.
Junior Michael Helms led the Broncos with a 90th-place finish, while sophomore Thomas Chapman was right behind in 91st-place in a 10k time of 33:54. Brenneman ran much of the race with the leaders but fell to 98th overall with a time of 34:13.
"We just had a bad day," said Head Men's Coach John Maloney, the WCC's 2000 Coach of the Year. "Charlie fell probably 40 spots or so in the last mile and Michael didn't have his best day. I was pleased with the performances of Thomas Chapman, Ben Gauen and the rest of our young guys. I think we have really built a solid foundation to have a great team next year."
