SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara University men and women's cross country teams return from a two-week layoff Saturday when they host the annual Bronco Invitational at the Crystal Springs International Cross Country Course in Belmont.

The annual event begins at 9 a.m. with the men's 8,000-meter race, followed by the women's 5,000-meter competition. Men's teams scheduled to compete include Fullerton, Gonzaga, Pepperdine, San Francisco, Saint Mary's, San Jose State and host Santa Clara. Confirmed women's teams include Fresno State, Fullerton, Gonzaga, Nevada, Pepperdine, San Francisco, San Jose State, UC Santa Cruz and host Santa Clara.

This year's race will also have added meaning for Santa Clara and San Jose State. It will serve as the head-to-head competition in the inaugural rivalry series between the two schools. The overall team winner of the men's and women's races will each receive two points toward the point total for their school in the overall standings. For complete information on the rivalry series, Click Here.

The Santa Clara women's team is coming off its best performance of the year two weeks ago at the Willamette Invitational in Salem, Ore. The Broncos posted an impressive fifth-place finish overall, ahead of Portland, Portland State, Fullerton and Washington. Kim Bates finished 11th overall with a 5,000-meter time of 17:28.88 to pace five Bronco runners who finished under 19:00. Milena Basile and Robin Bell finished 36th and 37th, while Courtney Daniels finished ahead of Katie Hansen as the Broncos' fourth runner. The Broncos finished behind Idaho, Auburn, Oregon and Hawai'i in the meet.

The Bronco men's team placed third out of seven teams two weeks ago at the San Francisco State Invitational in Lindley Meadows at Golden Gate Park. Junior Dominic Ricci paced a limited squad with an eighth-place finish with an 8,000-meter time of 26:22.10, his second-fastest race of the season at that distance. A quartet of freshmen, led by Chris Doerhoff, finished the race in 14th-through-17th places as the Broncos competed without their top four runners.

Directions to Crystal Springs
From Santa Clara:
El Camino Real to I880 south
I880 south to I280 north
I280 north to Highway 92 east
Highway 92 east to Ralston Avenue
Left turn on Ralston Avenue
Right turn on Halmark Drive
Park on street outside of Halmark Park (on right 1 mile from Ralston)
Walk up path into course (0.4 mile to starting line)