Broncos Secure 23rd Trip to NCAA Championships With Third Place Finish in Regionals
By: Alex Kline, Assistant Athletics Director for Communications
MONMOUTH, OR – The Cal Poly Pomona men's cross country team placed third in the NCAA West Regional 10K championships on Saturday morning, earning an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Championships in Joplin, MO on November 18th. This will be the Broncos' 23rd appearance on the national stage, and their first since 2021.
— Cal Poly Pomona Broncos (@cppbroncos) November 5, 2023For the 23rd time in program history, men's cross country is headed to the NCAA Division II National Championships!
They will travel to Joplin, MO to compete on Saturday, November 18th 🏃♂️ pic.twitter.com/FIJdUxwLWd
Leandro Candray and Ricardo Vargas repeated as All-West Region honorees with Top 25 finishes at 8th and 19th, respectively. Francisco Zavaleta (11th) and Tom McDonnell (13th) joined the two in the Top 25, also earning All-West Region honors. In total, all seven of the No. 17 Broncos finished in the Top 50 in the field of 156 runners, while the top five for CPP nearly all made the Top 25 - Daniel Echeveste rounding out that group at 26th in the race.
The team's third-place finish came with a total of 77 points, finishing with an average time of 31:07 and a spread of just 34 seconds between Candray and Echeveste. Perennial west region-threat Chico State claimed their seventh consecutive NCAA West Region Title, finishing with an average time of 30:57 - just 10 seconds ahead of CPP. Their top six runners each earned All-West Region honors.
Candray's late push helped him secure a Top 10 finish, having checked in at 26th at the 6K mark. By the 8K split, he had improved his position all the way down to 10th before crossing the line in eighth place. Zavaleta also had a strong performance, checking into the Top 10 in the 4K, 6K, and 8K splits while being as high as fourth while ultimately finishing at 11th.
— Cal Poly Pomona Broncos (@cppbroncos) November 4, 2023
Bronco Bits
- Saturday was the 35th meet for head coach Chris Bradford in his sixth season at CPP.
- This is the sixth time in the past 10 seasons that the Broncos have placed third in the west region championships, not including a second-place finish in 2019.
- The Broncos are four-time west region champions, having dominated the '90's with titles in 1990, 1994, 1996, and 1997.
- Francisco Zavaleta recorded a personal best in the 10K at 30:58.7.
- Tom McDonnell recorded a personal best in the 10K at 31:02.4, surpassing his 31:27.6 mark from the West Region Championships in 2022.
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