SEATTLE — Santa Clara cross country finished up its season on Friday morning against a competitive field at the NCAA West Region Meet. Jack Davidson took 64th place to lead the men's side to a 15th-place finish (of 30 teams) in the 10-kilometer race at Jefferson Golf Course. Marisa Sanchez crossed the finish line in 151st place for the women's team that took 30th (of 36) in the field.
The men's team notched its best finish at the event since the Broncos captured 13th place in the 2011 NCAA West Region Meet in nearby Palo Alto, California.
MEN'S 10-KILOMETER RACE
In addition to Jack Davidson (30:54.3), Joey Berriatua (70th place – 31:03.9), Zach Litoff (112th – 31:52.8), Noah Westfall (121st – 32:09.1) and Ben Davidson (123rd – 32:09.9) also scored for the Broncos. Santa Clara totaled 488 points to finish in a close spread of four teams: Loyola Marymount (13th, 481 points), UC Santa Barbara (14th, 481 points), SCU and UC Davis (16th, 493 points).
Portland had the top two finishers, including Emmanuel Roudolff-Levisse in first place, and also scored at No. 4 for a total of 63 points to win the meet and nearly edge host Washington (65 points).
WOMEN'S 6-KILOMETER RACE
Sanchez (22:22.6) scored for the Broncos alongside Bevin McCullough (163rd place – 22:29.1), Janie Nabholz (182nd – 22:45.2), Ellie Kopf (190th – 22:57.5) and Noelani Obermeyer (196th – 23:01.5). Santa Clara outran three conference foes in Pacific, Saint Mary's and Pepperdine as well as UC Irvine, San Diego State and Hawai'i.
West Coast Conference Championship individual medalist Charlotte Taylor won the meet and helped San Francisco — the only team to place three runners in the top 10 (1, 4, 7) — to best Stanford for the team title.
NOTES
• Prior to Friday, the men's highest finish since 2011 was 17th place (2014).
• Jack Davidson and Berriatua were the top two Bronco finishers in all five events they competed in this season.
• Sanchez became the first Bronco female runner to lead the team in a race for the second time this season.
• James Konugres, Will Burschinger, Jamie Ferris and Emma McCurry also competed for the Broncos.
QUOTABLE
"Our women executed their race plan really well and we had our best race of the year. It was great to get back in front of Pacific and Saint Mary's; we closed the gap on Gonzaga a bit from conference as well."
"The men survived the day and we were able to walk away from the meet having hit our season-long goal of finishing in the top 15. This year the region was incredibly competitive, and this is our best regional race for sure. The guys ran super tough and are excited to get back to work in a few weeks in preparation for track and field."
- Head Coach Felipe Montoro
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