Oct. 14, 2009

Santa Clara will host the Bronco Invitational Cross Country Meet this Sat., Oct. 17 at Baylands Park in Sunnyvale, Calif. The meet is the largest cross country meet west of the Mississippi River this weekend and features more than 630 runners in four races. The men will run an 8K and the women will run a 5K.

By car, NAIA powerhouse Black Hills State University, located in Spearfish, S.D., will travel the farthest - flying more than 1800 miles to get to Baylands Park. University of Hawaii-Manoa couldn't make it by car ever, but it is located more than 2000 miles from Baylands Park.

"The runners never get more than 400 meters from the start finish area so anyone attending will get the full experience of a large collegiate cross country race," said Bronco head coach Tom Service. "The entire race course consists of loops of one mile or less so spectators get to see the runners several times during the race. It is very exciting to see almost 200 runners racing with leaders running 8k at about 4:40 pace for Men and 5k at 5:25 pace for Women."

The Bronco Invitational schedule is as follows on Sat., Oct. 17:

8 am - Alumni / Fun Run

9 am - Women's Open 5k

9:45 - Women's Inv. 5k

10:30 - Men's Inv. 8k

11:15 - Men's Open 8k

Santa Clara's Robbie Reid, the September WCC Runner of the Month, obviously has been running well this fall, as has teammate Chris Sampson. Bronco head associate head coach Felipe Montoro is looking some of the younger guys and veterans coming off injuries to step up and close the gap on Reid and Sampson.

"As a team, the men are looking to mix it up with our conference foes as well as the many regionally-ranked teams competing. It is our last chance to prepare for the post season in a race environment, so we are looking for a good execution of our team's objectives," said Montoro.

The Bronco women will be led by September WCC Runner of the Month and Sac State Invite champion, Stephanie Wilson. Freshmen Carey Parker and Mary Reynolds continue to look sharp in recent races and workouts. 2007 All-WCC performer, Melissa Conlin, returns from an injury plagued 2008, and is very close to being "back".

"The Bronco women are very excited about this week's Bronco Invitational," said Service. "We have done several workouts at Baylands so there is a certain level of familiarity. As we get closer to the championship season, there is still come competition for the coveted seven spots on the WCC team. This meet also gives us a chance to compete with four of the other WCC teams. The race should be very fast with great conditions."

The Women's Open, a 5K run at 9:00 am, includes the following: Academy of Art University, Bethany University, Black Hills State, Cal State East Bay, Hartnell College, Holy Names University, Modesto Junior College, Nevada, Notre Dame de Namur, Pacific, Sacramento City College, Sacramento State, San Francisco State, San Jose State, host Santa Clara, Shasta College, Simpson University, UC Santa Cruz, San Diego, USF, Williams Jessup and a few unattached runners as well.

The Women's Invitational, a 5K at 9:45 am, includes the following: Black Hills State, Boise State, California-Berkeley, Fresno State, Hawaii-Manoa, Long Beach State, Nevada, New Mexico State, Pepperdine, Sacramento State, San Jose State, host Santa Clara, Stanford, UC Davis, San Diego, UNLV, USF and a few unattached runners as well.

The Men's Open, an 8K run at 10:30 am, includes the following: Bethany University, Black Hills State, Cal State East Bay, Hartnell College, Holy Names University, Notre Dame de Namur, Sacramento State, Sacramento City College, San Francisco State, San Jose State, host Santa Clara, Shasta College, Simpson University, UC Santa Cruz, San Diego, USF, Williams Jessup and a few unattached runners as well.

The Men's Invitational, an 8K at 11:15 am, includes the following: Black Hills State, Boise State, California-Berkeley, Fresno State, Hartnell College, Long Beach State, New Mexico State, Pepperdine, Sacramento State, Saint Mary's, San Diego Mesa College, San Jose State, host Santa Clara, Stanford, UC Davis, San Diego, USF and a few unattached runners as well.