Sept. 22, 2004
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - After taking a week off from competition, the Santa Clara men's and women's cross country teams will be back in action on Saturday at the Stanford Invitational at the Stanford Golf Course. In one of the largest meets of the season, the Broncos will compete against 50 other schools and over 800 student-athletes.
The meet, which is co-hosted by Palo Alto High School, showcases the top high school and collegiate runners in the country. Nearly 4,000 athletes will participate in the Invitational, which begins 9:30 a.m. for the high school races. The college races will begin at 4:10 p.m. with the women's non-scored 5,000 meters, in which SCU will compete. The men's scored 4,000 meters will start at 4:55 p.m., while the women's scored 6,000 meters begins at 5:15 p.m.
Some of the top teams in the country will compete at Stanford, including the host and defending National Champion Cardinal. The Stanford women are currently ranked first in the country, while the men are second behind Wisconsin. Pac-10 power UCLA and defending Big West Champion UC Santa Barbara will race on the women's side, while the Bruins and defending Big West Champion Cal Poly will compete for the men.
The Broncos will get back to their weekly competition schedule after the week hiatus. The teams last raced in Fresno at the Fresno State Invitational on September 11. The SCU men finished fifth at the meet, while the SCU women placed sixth.
Freshman Michael Delaurenti was the Broncos top finisher in Fresno, placing 33rd in a time of 26:41. It marked the first time in his young collegiate career the South San Francisco native ran under 27 minutes. Chris Doerhoff ran a time of 27:19 to place 41st in the meet. A pair of freshman also ran well, as Christen Gumbs and Andrew Blumel also finished in the top-50. Gumbs ran an 8,000-meter time of 27:26 to place 44th, while Blumel was 49th in a time of 27:31.
Sophomore Jessica Baldwin-Philippi was Santa Clara's top finisher for the second straight meet after winning the Bronco Invitational to kick off the season. At Fresno State, Baldwin-Philippi placed 27th in a 5,000-meter time of 18:50. Freshman Ann Thomas continued to impress, finishing 35th in a time of 19:17, while Katie Hansen was one spot back with a time of 19:19. Another Bronco freshman, Adriane Puetz, finished in 38th place, in a 5,000-meter time of 19:26.
