COLLEGE STATION, Texas — For the first time in program history, Santa Clara will be represented at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Zach Litoff bested his own 3,000-meter steeplechase program record with an 8:42.11 Saturday at the NCAA West Region Preliminary Meet at E.B. Cushing Stadium. He finished in 12^th place of 48 runners to punch his ticket to nationals. 

Litoff placed fifth of 16 in the first of three heats and was one of three runners to qualify with an at-large time. He took more than a second off of his previous program-best mark of 8:43.43 from the 2021 Oregon State High Performance Meet. 

The Boulder, Colorado native advances to the national semifinals on June 9 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. The steeple final is slated for June 11. 

"Zach's race was a historic one for us and his time in this heat and humidity is very impressive," head coach Felipe Montoro said. "He showed today he's one of the best steeplechasers in the country and I'm not surprised. He has shown all year he was ready for this performance. I'm looking forward to seeing what he does at the national finals in Eugene."

Jack Davidson closed out one of the great all-time careers by a Bronco runner in the 5,000-meter run; he did not finish Saturday's race. Davidson leaves as the program record holder at 1,500m, 3,000m(i) and 5,000m on the track in addition to 8k in cross country. He is also the second-fastest 10k runner in SCU cross country history.

"Jack leaves the most decorated runner in school history and has set the standard for years to come," Montoro said. "I can't say enough about it what a pleasure it has been to coach him."

Christian Raslowsky also competed for the final time as a Bronco, making his postseason debut with a 9:03.38 to take 27^th place in the steeple. Harvey Chilcott, the first Bronco freshman to qualify for the postseason, crossed the steeplechase finish line in 9:41.92 for 42^nd place.

"Raz has been a catalyst for our team's culture, allowing us to rise to the national level as a distance group," Montoro said. "His dedication and leadership is second-to-none and he competed really well today to close out his career.

"Harvey turned in a great freshman season. He will have many more years to continue his development."

In total, the Broncos had a program-record five runners reach the postseason. Alex Scales posted an 800-meter 1:54.32 as the first Bronco to race in the regional meet on Wednesday.

"This has been and continues to be a tremendous season for us," Montoro said. "I am incredibly proud of our team captains and seniors for their leadership during this incredibly challenging season. They deserve the credit for this success, keeping everyone engaged and fit while we navigated the pandemic."

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