Oct. 28, 2006
Belmont, Calif. - The Santa Clara men's and women's cross country teams took part in West Coast Conference Championships on Saturday at Crystal Springs Cross Country Course in Belmont. The men had a strong race with a third-place finish led by junior Chris Gumbs, who finished in sixth overall to earn first-team All-WCC honors. The women's team finished fourth on the day with Lauren Swigart and Annie Murphy-Hagan both finishing in the top 15.
In the men's 8K race which started at 9:00 a.m., the Broncos ran a smart race staying together and finishing the race with a strong push. Gumbs stayed among the leaders for most of the race and crossed the finish line in sixth place. Sophomore Michael Hannon came in soon after Gumbs, finishing in 13th place to earn All-WCC Second Team honors. The Broncos other scoring runners were junior A.J. Blumel and freshman Alex Harkins, who finished 17th and 18th respectively.
As a team, the Broncos finished with 75 points, just 12 behind second-place San Francisco. Portland won the race with 24 points. Last year, Santa Clara finished fourth in the WCC's.
On the women's side, the Broncos came in fourth place in the 6K race after having high hopes entering the race. With a number of runners feeling under the weather and some returning from injury, Santa Clara could not push themselves into the top three. The race changed from a 5K last year to a 6K in 2006.
Senior Lauren Swigart ran a strong race to lead the way for the Broncos and in the process, she earned All-WCC Second Team honors. Just behind Swigart, freshman Annie Murphy-Hagan continued her excellent first year with a 13th place finish and second-team All-WCC honors. Veronica Vazquez, coming back from injury, was the third Bronco to cross the finish line, followed by Gillian Fitch, Whitney Porter, Anna Wheatley and Shannon Bell. Bell, who finished second last year, battled a head cold and fatigue through out the race.
Both teams take next week off before heading to Portland, Ore. for the NCAA Regionals on Saturday, Nov. 11.
Complete Men's Results in PDF Format
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Complete Women's Results in PDF FormatDownload Free Acrobat Reader
Men's Results
6 Chris Gumbs JR SANTA CLARA 26:03
13 Mike Hannon SO SANTA CLARA 26:23
17 A.J. Blumel JR SANTA CLARA 26:34
18 Alex Harkins FR SANTA CLARA 26:36
21 Dan Smith SO SANTA CLARA 26:47
29 Michael Delaurenti JR SANTA CLARA 27:16
32 Stephen Koch FR SANTA CLARA 27:24
Women's Results
12 Lauren Swigart SR SANTA CLARA 23:20
13 Annie Murphy-Hagan FR SANTA CLARA 23:25
20 Veronica Vazquez SO SANTA CLARA 23:44
23 Gillian Fitch FR SANTA CLARA 23:54
26 Whitney Porter SO SANTA CLARA 24:00
33 Anna Wheatley SO SANTA CLARA 24:25
35 Shannon Bell SR SANTA CLARA 24:28
