Cross country finishes strong at championship

By Alex Moriconi

The Santa Clara women's cross country team improved on their fourth place finish last season, taking third place at the West Coast Conference Championship this past weekend

The men's team missed out on third place by only one point at the championship in in Belmont, Calif.

The women's team exceeded expectations, overtaking WCC rival University of San Francisco for third place at the Conference Championship.

"It was quite an accomplishment for us to take third place," coach Tom Service said. "We were very pleased by our performance."

Both senior Veronica Vazquez and junior Stephanie Wilson were named to the WCC first team. Vazquez finished seventh overall at the WCC championship, while Wilson finished in 10th place.

"Knowing that I could (be named to the WCC first team) with a teammate made it that much better," Vazquez said.

Six Santa Clara women runners placed in the top 25.

"Our coach has a lot of great sayings, and one of them that we have used a lot this year is that the strength of the wolf is the pack," Vazquez said. "Team unity got us through."

The gap has been close in recent years between Santa Clara and top cross country teams like Loyola Marymount and perennial powerhouse Portland.

Santa Clara will look to challenge Loyola for second place next season.

"It was a little disappointing to be so close to third, but I definitely think the guys competed well," Assistant Coach Felipe Montoro said of the men's finish.

Montoro is hopeful about the future.

"Just about everybody is returning except for Chris Gumbs, and there is a lot of room for each individual to improve themselves as distance runners."

Sophomore Robbie Reid anchored the Broncos by finishing ninth overall, and he was named to the WCC first team.

Junior Alex Harkins was recognized for his 13th place performance by being named an Honorable Mention for the all-WCC team.

A strong core consisting of Reid, Harkins and sophomores Chris Sampson and Chris Mosier will only get better, said Montoro.

"Robbie is just scratching the surface, so I definitely look for him to continue to improve, and Alex is already one of our team captains, so I definitely look to see him continue that role," Montoro said.

Reid consistently finished within the top 10, and he expects even more from himself next season.

"If I put in all the mileage and stay healthy, then top five is not out of the question," he said. "It's our goal every year to finish second in the conference."

Service and Montoro are also optimistic about the women's team's chances next year despite losing seniors Vazquez, Noelle Lopez and Whitney Porter.

They said that next year's team would be relying on Annie Murphy-Hagan, Stephanie Wilson and Melissa Conlin.

"Those will be three strong leaders, two seniors and one junior," Service said. "Moving up from fourth last year to third this year, we definitely feel like we are heading in the right direction."

Conlin, who was named all-WCC first team last year, had an injury hamper her season, but she will be returning for next season.

Continued improvement can also be expected from younger runners like freshman Jennifer Clarke.

With the men's team returning six of their top seven runners, and the women's team returning four of their top seven, both coaches are very optimistic on the team's future.

"Along with the new recruits coming in, I think we're going to be in good shape next year," Service said.

Both women's and men's cross country teams face one more challenge this season, as both have qualified for the West Region Championships.

Service sees the regional championship as a chance for the men's and women's teams to get noticed on a larger stage.

"We need to re-focus our efforts because we do have one more championship meet," Service said. "It's important for us to finish as high as we can in the west region to show our improvement."

Contact Alex Moriconi at mmoriconi@scu.edu.