WOMEN'S POLL/PRESEASON ALL-WCC TEAM | MEN'S POLL/PRESEASON ALL-WCC TEAM 

SAN MATEO, Calif. — Janie Nabholz of Santa Clara women's cross country has been recognized as one of the top runners in the West Coast Conference. She is one of 10 student-athletes to earn a spot on the All-WCC Preseason Spring Women's Cross Country Team, as announced by the conference on Friday.

Nabholz and the Bronco women are tabbed for fifth place in the WCC, while the Bronco men are picked to finish in fourth. The preseason poll and teams are voted on solely by the conference's head coaches.

In 2019, Nabholz ran in six cross country meets and led the team in all six. She became the second-fastest 6k runner in program history with a personal-best 20:35.0 at the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational, finishing in 10^th place and coming within three seconds of setting a program record.

Her 6k 21:21.8 at the West Coast Conference Championships helped the Broncos finish in sixth place, matching their best result at the meet since 2012. She capped the season with a 6k 21:02.5 at the NCAA Division I West Region Championships (Nov. 15) to help the Broncos finish in 23^rd place, matching their best result at the meet since 2012.

The Bronco men return three of their top four scorers from both the 2019 WCC and NCAA regional meets between Jorge Estrella, Harvey Chilcott, James Konugres and Spencer Fischer. Estrella led the Broncos in four straight meets to close out the season. The team placed fourth in conference and 15^th at regionals for its best performances at each event since 2011.

Santa Clara will also be bolstered by the return of Jack Davidson, Zach Litoff and Xander Olivero from redshirt seasons.

WOMEN'S POLL

BYU, currently ranked second in the country, received the maximum nine first-place votes and 81 points. Portland (72 points, one first-place vote), Gonzaga (62), San Francisco (55) and the Broncos (44) were picked to finish in the top half of conference. Saint Mary's (38), LMU (35), San Diego (21), Pacific (20) and Pepperdine (12) round out the poll.

MEN'S POLL

The nation's top-ranked team, BYU, picked up a maximum eight first-place votes and 64 points. Portland (56 points, one first-place vote), Gonzaga (51), the Broncos (43) and San Francisco (32) make up the top five. Pepperdine (24), LMU (22), Saint Mary's (19) and San Diego (13) round out the poll.

WCC CHAMPIONSHIPS

The 2020-21 WCC Championships are slated for Feb. 24 in Las Vegas at the Craig Ranch Regional Park. Check back with SantaClaraBroncos.com for official information on the schedule and the conference meet.

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