Under sunny and warm conditions at race time at 9 am, the Santa Clara men's and women's cross country teams continued its Friday morning, hosting Saint Mary's at Baylands Park for a dual meet. The Bronco women's team beat SMC by a score of 18-39 while the Bronco men were defeated by a score of 23-38.
Santa Clara took home both the individual victories, with Luca Singore taking the men's 6k race in 18:49.2 and Lauren Germany won the women's 5k race in 18:17.2.
"I was really pleased with the progress both teams made today," said Bronco head coach Felipe Montoro. "Our women continue to impress. There were some real bright spots on the men's team as well. Unfortunately, we had to hold out a few men who got sick this week, so I am still anxious to see where some of our younger athletes stand."
The men's 6k was the first event at 9am. Signore pulled away for the win in the final 400m after a pack of SMC and SCU runners started to break up around the 5k mark. Signore was closely followed by Sean Roe in 4th place, who turned in a time of 19:00.2. Also scoring for the men's team were Moises Venegas (9th, 19:32.7), Leland Wong (11th, 19:44.0) and Ezana Tesfu (13th, 20:10.1).
"Hopefully next week at Pepperdine we will be able to get a better idea of where we are with the men's team if everyone can get healthy by then," added Montoro. "Luca Signore and Sean Roe looked great today."
The SCU women's team ran together for most of the race, chasing down SMC Ali Teliha over the final mile. In the end, it was Lauren Germany and Mary Kriege who crossed the line together, both timed at 18:17. Allie Sibole was 3rd in 18:22, Junior Audrey Hiatt finished 5th in 18:26.5 and junior Kelly Ryan rounded out the scoring in 7th place running 18:49.3.
"Lauren Germany has made a significant jump in fitness this season and it was great to see Mary back in uniform," said Montoro.
