Sept. 2, 2006
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - The Santa Clara University men's and women's cross country teams got their 2006 season off to solid starts Saturday morning at the San Francisco Cross Country Invitational, as Chris Gumbs and Shannon Bell each turned in top-five finishes for their respective squads.
Paced by Gumbs' 26:23.5 time in the men's 8K, good for fourth position, the men's side captured second place in the team competition with 53 points. Michael Delaurenti took seventh with a time of 26:48.1 while A.J. Blumel came in 13th with a time of 27:18.8 and Mike Hannon finished 18th with a time of 27:33.5.
The Bronco newcomers made the adjustment to the longer, 8K course, as well, with Stephen Koch leading a trio of freshmen who finished in the 19-20-21 positions at 27:38.0, 27:40.2, and 27:41.5, respectively.
On the women's side, Bell led the Broncos with a fourth-place time of 18:05.4 in the 5K race. Freshman Annie Murphy-Hagan turned in a top-10 finish in her collegiate debut, taking ninth with a time of 18:37.5, while senior Lauren Swigart (18:53.9) rounded out the Broncos in the top-20 with a 16th place effort. In the team competition, the women took fourth with a total of 79 points.
The San Francisco men took the men's team title with 25 points, as all five of the school's scoring runners placed in the top-10, led by Cheyne Inman, the top collegiate finisher with an 8K time of 26:12.5. Cal captured the women's title, placing four runners in the top-10, led by the 5K time of 17:43.0 from runner-up Bridget Duffy. San Jose State's Tiffany Marie Hall captured the women's race in a time of 17:37.9.
Santa Clara will now take a weekend off before returning Sept. 16, sending contingents to participate in the Sundodger Invitational in Seattle, Wash. and the Notre Dame Invitational in South Bend, Ind.
