SEATTLE — In the final races of their Santa Clara cross country careers, seniors Mary Kriege and Bryan Crook led their teams at Friday's NCAA West Regional Championship at Jefferson Park Golf Course. The veteran Broncos battled through a windy, muddy course to finish in 56th and 63rd place, respectively.
The men finished in 19th place (of 30 teams) and the women finished in 24th place (of 35 teams).
"Both teams performed well. We haven't faced conditions like these in a few years," head coach Felipe Montoro said. "I was pleased with how we handled the adverse conditions and were able to compete."
Women's 6k — Santa Clara Scorers
56. Mary Kriege 21:39.2
64. Grayson Murphy 21:46.3
118. Heather LaPlante 22:27.1
194. Elsa Valenzuela 23:38.7
216. Kaitlyn Kuehn 24:01.5
"The women were close to putting together a really good race and getting into the Top 20 in the most competitive region in the country," Montoro said. "Still, last year we were 31st, so we were much better this year and I am very pleased with the overall progress of our women's team.
Men's 6k — Santa Clara Scorers
63. Bryan Crook 32:20.9
89. Ryan Greenough 32:53.1
129. Aaron Brumbaugh 33:55.4
144. Noah Westfall 34:09.2
248. Austin Blankenship 34:12.5
"Bryan led a very good effort by the men. He really got after it and gave himself a chance to be great," Montoro said. "His track season will be very good.
"Both fields were bigger and more competitive than a year ago, and for such a young team to be in the top 20 is very encouraging for the future. Our men were markedly better than at conference and that was the main objective."
Go Broncos!
