Watch EYEBRONCO's Coverage of the Men's Races

Watch EYEBRONCO's Coverage of the Women's Races

SUNNYVALE, Calif. — At their second home event of the season, the Santa Clara men's and women's cross country teams continued the trend of progress and improvement with positive results at the Bronco Invite Saturday. A total of five runners set personal best marks between the men's and women's invitationals. Between the four races — men's 8k invitational, men's 8k open, women's 6k invitational, women's 6k open — 22 Broncos ran at meet in Baylands Park.

Men

Four of Santa Clara's top five runners set personal best marks to lead the Broncos to a sixth-place finish as a team in the men's 8k invitational. Kurt Ruegg led the top five with a mark of 24:04.2, good for 18th place overall and nearly 20 seconds faster than September's WCC Preview Meet, his first race at Baylands Park.

"Kurt ran a great race, and while he may have been a touch conservative early, he didn't panic," assistant coach Pete Cushman said. "He managed to fight his way through a large field into good position with a k to go. 

"I couldn't be more proud of this group," head coach Felipe Montoro said. "A lot of these guys are far from 100 percent but you wouldn't know it from their performance. As a team, we took a big step forward today. The best part is that we can still get better."

"Bryan has made a few breakthroughs over the last two years, but this might have been his biggest one yet," Cushman said.

"Peter had a fantastic breakthrough too. We needed someone to step up, and Peter came up big. This was his best performance in a Bronco uniform. He's worked very hard, and we're thrilled for him."

In the men's 8k open, Noah Westfall posted a mark of 26:05.9 — good for 28th place overall — and Tony Ferrari ran the course in 26:37.4. Montoro noted that the freshman and senior ran well for the Broncos. 

Women

For the third time this season, the Broncos were led by freshman Grayson Murphy, who ran the women's 6k invitational race in 21:59.9. Her PR time was nearly a minute faster than her first mark at Baylands Park during September's WCC Preview Meet.

"This was Graysee's fifth career cross country race, and as has been the trend prior to this one, she continues to make big strides of improvement," Cushman said. "She's gaining confidence as we go, and is starting to see her role for the team more clearly."

Santa Clara's top five rounded out with Kelly Ryan (22:08.8), Allison Maio (22:22.7), Kaitlyn Kuehn (22:39.9) and Amia Nash (22:50.7), who Montoro said ran well. 

"This performance gives us a good idea what we need to do leading into WCC," Cushman said. "Kelly learned a few lessons today that we can use going into conference, and I think Allison, Amia, Kaitlyn, Hannah, and Audrey know they can get right into the mix with her.

Montoro noted the races of Elsa Valenzuela (23:49.4) and Marisa Rudolph (24:08.7) in the women's 6k open, as the two performed well to earn themselves a spot on the conference championship roster. The Broncos placed sixth as a team in the open race.

"We get so much help from so many people, and for that we are very thankful," Montoro said. "We are already looking forward to next year."

"We're fortunate to have a large contingent of teams and fans at the Bronco Invitational each year," Cushman said. "We're grateful for all the support, and thankful for all the people behind the scenes who help make this meet possible."

Up Next

The Broncos head back to Baylands Park for the West Coast Conference Championships Nov. 1. It marks the first time since the inception of the conference championships in 1985 that Santa Clara will host the event.

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Go Broncos!