Oct. 11, 2016
San Jose, Calif. - Both the San José State men's and women's cross country teams will compete in its final regular-season meet this Saturday in Santa Clara University's Bronco Invitational.
The men's 8k race starts at 9:00 a.m., and the women's 6k race begins at 9:45 a.m., in Baylands Regional Park (999 East Caribbean Drive, Sunnyvale, CA 94089).
| Event | The Bronco Invite hosted by Santa Clara University |
| Date | Saturday, October 15, 2016 |
| Site | Baylands Regional Park |
| Start | Men - 9:00 a.m. Women - 9:45 a.m. |
| Results | http://timerhub.com/get_web_ index.php?page=redcaptiming. com/2016/bronco/ |
| Fees | Parking - $6.00 cash |
The Spartans will be competing against UC Santa Barbara, Texas Tech, Saint Mary's, Loyola Marymount, UT San Antonio, UC Davis, Sacramento State and Santa Clara. The meet will be scored as a double duel event. "We'll see the results like a regular meet, but we will also be duel scored against every other Division I team at the meet," said Spartans head coach Brad Wick.
"Both teams will be going for the win," said Wick. "UC Santa Barbara beat us two weeks ago (at the Stanford Invitational) and UC Davis has a very competitive team. Texas Tech is regionally ranked, but we really don't know how strong they or UTSA are. LMU beat us last year on the women's side and teams like Saint Mary's and Santa Clara have their eyes on us, hoping to knock us off. We'll have plenty of competition, so it will be a good benchmark for where both of our squads are."
The Men
The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) regionally rank four teams that are competing at the Bronco Invitational. Including SJSU, who is #14 in the West Region, UCSB is 13th and Saint Mary's is 15th in the region and Texas Tech is ranked 10th in the Mountain Region.
"Last year Ben (Branagh) was third, Josue (Gonzalez) was fourth and Jose (Piña) fifth in this meet and as a team we finished in first. We'll see (how strong the opposition is) this weekend, but all three of those guys should be in the top-10 again. I can see Craig (Huff) making a move and breaking into the top-20. I also expect Raul (Rodarte) and Huruy (Zeratsion) to run really well."
The Women
Only two squads are regionally ranked by the USTFCCCA on the women's side, UCSB at #13 and LMU at #15. The Spartans finished in second place last year and hope to improve on that finish this year.
"Jenny (Jennifer Sandoval) will be competing for the win," said Wick. "Look for Jeanette (Zambrano) for a top-10 finish and Addie (Adilene Aldapa) and Karina (Nunes) will have very strong races…they looked good in practice. We are still looking for that fifth runner to close the gap. I see Ashley (Cahalan), Camilla (Hanson) and J.J. (Jacqueline Escalera) all competing for that spot."
"(Our men's and women's) teams are even better than we were two weeks ago. We've gotten some good work in and this race is always fun because it's a flat, fast course and we are really comfortable there. Everyone has either raced it or done our mile-repeat workouts there. The course is kind of an "S" shape. The women do three loops and the men do four, so it's a good course for spectators to come out and watch and cheer us on."
This will be the final race for the team in the regular season. "Every coach always wants something more from his or her team, but I think we are in a good position right now. We are closing the gap (for positions 1-to-5) and I'm confident we are on the right trajectory for (Mountain West Conference Championship in) Boise (on October 28). But this weekend we are focus on putting our best foot forward and going for the win."