No. 16 Broncos Take Second at CCAA Championships
By: Alex Kline, Assistant Athletics Director for Communications
FREMONT, CA – For the third consecutive year, and the eighth time in the past decade, Cal Poly Pomona men's cross country finished second in the CCAA Cross Country Championships. The 8K race was hosted by Cal State East Bay at Quarry Lakes Regional Park in Fremont, CA.
The Broncos finished with 41 points, averaging 25:07 with just a 27-second gap between their top five runners. Despite being in first place at the 2K split, perennial CCAA threat #8 Chico State passed CPP before the 4K split and never relinquished the lead. Chico state would go on to win the race with just 18 points, having their top five runners all finish in the top eight of the race with an average time of 24:51. The Wildcats have now won 21 consecutive CCAA Championships dating back to the 2002 season.
Four Broncos placed in the Top 10 in the race, and six placed in the Top 12. CPP's top six runners actually finished higher than Chico State's top six, but the Wildcats took ownership of the top four spots. Together, the two programs made up 12 of the top 13 finishers in the race.
Among the top finishers for CPP were Daniel Echeveste (5th, 24:54.2), Leandro Candray (6th, 24:58.2), Francisco Zavaleta (9th, 25:09.0), and Vincent Sarino (10th, 25:13.8). Both Ricardo Vargas (11th, 25:16.6) and Tom McDonnell (12th, 25:16.9) also finished in the Top 15 of the race, earning All-CCAA honors.
In total, nine of the Broncos' 10 runners finished in the Top 25, while all 10 finished in the Top 50 in a field of 82. Since 1973, CPP has won the CCAA Championships five times (1983, 1985, 1994, 1996, 1997) and have now finished second 16 times.
— Cal Poly Pomona Broncos (@cppbroncos) October 21, 2023Men's cross country finishes 2nd in the CCAA Championships for the third consecutive year!
SIX Broncos finished in the top 15 of the race 🏃♂️ pic.twitter.com/9MWIJEEA29
Bronco Bits
- Saturday marks the 35th meet for head coach Chris Bradford in his sixth season at CPP.
- The Broncos have finished second in the CCAA Championships in 8 of the past 10 races.
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