No. 17 Men’s Cross Country Dominates Pomona-Pitzer Invite

By: Alex Kline, Assistant Athletics Director for Communications

CLAREMONT, CA – The CPP men's cross country team finished in first place out of 13 teams on Saturday morning, earning the title of Pomona-Pitzer Invite Champions. This was their first time claiming the title at the event since 2019, when they finished first in a field of nine teams.
 
An incredible six Broncos placed in the top 10 of the race, while 11 of CPP's 13 runners placed in the top 25. The team collectively finished with 29 points and a total time of 2:06:00.3, a full minute and a half faster than the second place team, The Master's, at 2:07:38.7. CPP finished a full six and a half minutes faster than the next closest Division II team in Westmont, and 11 and a half minutes faster than #9 Azusa Pacific.
 
"Our men and women ran well today," stated head coach Chris Bradford. "We have worked hard the past few years to build depth on the roster and that was on display today. The meet isn't as deep as it has been in the past, but we did have a strong challenge from The Master's, who are ranked #2 on the men's side in NAIA, and have some very talented guys on their team."
 
Ricardo Vargas finished first out of the CPP lineup, placing fourth in the field of 145 with a final time of 25:02.8. Five consecutive Broncos placed sixth through tenth, that being Francisco Zavaleta (6^th, 25:08.3), Daniel Echeveste (7^th,  25:11.3), Vincent Sarino (8^th, 25:17.9), Leandro Candray (9^th, 25:20.2), and Nicholas Albro (10^th, 25:24.1).
 
"Today we worked on running as pack and controlling the race," continued Bradford. "Nothing works perfectly to plan, but with our men again having a 1-5 spread under 20 seconds was great. We need to continue work on staying mentally and physically connected in the second half of races."

Up Next
The No. 17 Broncos will compete at the CCAA Championships on Saturday, October 21^st, with the race beginning at 10:00 AM. The men's 8K race will be hosted by Cal State East Bay at Quarry Lakes Regional Park in Fremont, CA.
 
"Our plan over the next few weeks as we prepare for the CCAA Championships is to keep doing what we are doing physically," said Bradford. "We are in a good place from a fitness standpoint and our main focus will need to continue to be our mental preparation. We have some real battles ahead of us against some nationally-ranked teams.  We have an opportunity to exceed expectations, but we will need to be mentally ready for a very challenging race."
 
 
Bronco Bits

• The men's team claimed 12 of the top 26 spots at the Pomona-Pitzer Invite, including six of the top 10 finishers.
• This was the Broncos' first time winning the Pomona-Pitzer invite since 2019. They finished second in 2022 and third in 2021.