Cross Country Completes 2016 WCC Championships

Cross Country Completes 2016 WCC Championships

SAN DIEGO — Santa Clara cross country completed the first West Coast Conference Championships of the 2016-17 season Friday morning at Tecolote Shores Park. The women bested Pacific and Pepperdine to take eighth place in the 6k, while the men outraced Pepperdine and host San Diego to take seventh place in the 8k.

Ryan Greenough had the best race for either side by finishing in 35th. For the women, freshman Noelani Obermeyer took 52nd as the fastest Bronco runner.

"Both teams finished where we were slated to finish going in," head coach Felipe Montoro said. "The door was open to place a spot or two higher for both teams, but we weren't able to capitalize. I'm a little disappointed that we weren't more aggressive early, as we have really been working on that."

WOMEN'S 6K

Bronco Scorers: 52. Noelani Obermeyer (23:40.7) 55. Allison Martinez (23:46.5) 56. Heather LaPlante (23:47.5) 59. Marisa Sanchez (24:10.9) 61. Bevin McCullough (24:15.7)

"Our women were dealing with some adversity going in with key scorers recovering from injuries, and I am really proud of how Heather and Bevin competed given the circumstances," Montoro said. "Noe also had a great day and has a very bright future for us. I am excited to get back to work and give it another shot at regionals in two weeks."

MEN'S 8K

Bronco Scorers: 35. Ryan Greenough (25:54.3) 37. Jack Davidson (26:01.2) 45. Wilder Boyden (26:29.9) 48. Noah Westfall (26:33.0) 56. Ben Davidson (26:46.4)

"The men also weren't able to capitalize on a few of the teams right in front of us having off days," Montoro said. "Overall though, our guys did have the best race of the season, but we were hoping for more. This is a great group and the next few years will be fun trying to close the gap on the top half of the conference. We will see if we can have the full team performance we are capable of in Sacramento in a few weeks."

And that's a wrap! The #scubroncos xc teams with a post race team pose. #stampedetogether #cutemloose

A photo posted by Santa Clara XC/Track (@scucrosscountry) on

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS

The women's 6k was a close race, with only five points separating WCC champion Portland (42) and third-place San Francisco (47). BYU tallied 44 points to finish in second place. In the men's 8k, BYU had five of the top seven runners to claim the conference crown for the second year in a row.

NEXT RACE

The Broncos have a tune up at the Banana Slug Invitational Nov. 4 ahead of the NCAA West Regional Meet Nov. 11.

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