FAYETTEVILLE, Ark./STANFORD, Calif. — Santa Clara cross country competed in two of its biggest events of the fall on Saturday. The Broncos split their squad, taking the top men's and women's runners to the Chile Pepper Festival in addition to fielding a pair of teams at the Stanford Invitational.
"I was pleased with the progress both teams made today, at Chile Pepper as well as at Stanford," head coach Felipe Montoro said.
Chile Pepper Festival
The Bronco men took 10th place in the 8k and the women took 15th place in the 5k. Both Bronco units ran in a field of 18 Division I programs, including eight regionally ranked teams and two nationally ranked teams in each race. Ryan Greenough finished in 31st place overall to lead the men and Heather LaPlante crossed the finish line in 84th place to lead the women.
"Our men's team is talented, but with the exception of Ryan Greenough, they are all relatively inexperienced," Montoro said. "We showed that inexperience a bit today. The pack was too conservative early in the race, and in that huge field, it was hard to move up. Still, I think we did well, and more importantly learned a lot as we approach the postseason.
"Much like the men, our women were pretty far back early, and had to work very hard to move up. We need to work on our 2-5 scorers closing the gap on Heather. If we can do that, we will be where we need to for the WCC championships."
Men's Scorers: 31. Ryan Greenough (24:47.59) 62. Jack Davidson (25:25.67) 68. Noah Westfall (25:29.71) 98. Andrew Melendez (25:59.69) 104. Aaron Brumbaugh (26:06.62)
Women's Scorers: 84. Heather LaPlante (18:33.94) 94. Noelani Obermeyer (18:41.58) 121. Bevin McCullough (19:09.22) 125. Marisa Rudolph (19:12.71) 131. Jamie Ferris (19:15.78)
Stanford Invitational
At Stanford, freshman Xander Olivero led the nine-man Bronco crew with a 57th-place finish in the 8k. On the women's side, Allison Martinez topped the Broncos with a 74th-place finish in the 6k.
"Xander Olivero ran a phenomenal race for a freshman at Stanford," Montoro said. "Allison Martinez had her best cross country race of her career at Stanford and looks to be a contributor in the postseason."
Next Event
The Broncos head to San Francisco for the third time this season to take part in Friday's San Francisco State Invitational.
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