The atmosphere was electric as spectators swarmed the finish line to see breakout star Milaina Almonte ’27 finish her race at the Bronco Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026.
“AND NO ONE IS GOING TO CATCH ALMONTE AS SHE’S GOING TO CRUISE TO HER SECOND STRAIGHT VICTORY,” boomed the announcer’s voice as Almonte crossed the finish line at Baylands Regional Park in Sunnyvale.
It was another stellar performance by Almonte, and a strong day all around for the Broncos, who placed both teams in the top four of a 23-team field in their final race before the WCC Championship.
Santa Clara University men’s cross country delivered a second-place finish on Saturday while Almonte took first place individually to lead the Santa Clara University women’s cross country team to a fourth-place finish.
Almonte finished with a time of 20:00.3, a school record, breaking her own record from last year when she finished with a time of 20:06.5. It was Almonte’s second straight race win, and she completely blew away the competition, winning by an astounding 24.7 seconds.
The only obstacle Almonte couldn’t quite edge out was the stopwatch. Just three-tenths of a second stood between Almonte and a mark no woman in Santa Clara program history has reached, finishing a 6K in under 20 minutes.
“It’s really hard not to fall back into my head or ease up on the gas, but I just try to keep my eyes forward and really feed off the energy,” Almonte said.
Following Almonte were Sydney Lim ’28, who placed seventh in 20:42.8, and Olivia Schlieman ’27, who gave the Broncos three runners in the top 20 with a 20th-place finish in 21:01.1. After that, the gap opened up. Santa Clara’s No. 4 runner, Sophie Bair ’30, crossed in 52nd, more than 40 seconds behind Schlieman, with Julia Russo ’28 close behind in 57th.
In cross country, a team’s score is the sum of its top five finishers’ places, and the lowest total wins. The Broncos totaled 122 points, well back of winner Chico State’s 46.
Women’s head coach Pete Cushman applauded the team’s effort and praised Almonte’s performance.
“Just from the gun, at the front, to run away from the field like that, that’s really impressive,” Cushman said. “I do think there’s more in the tank. I do think she can get under 20, and she’ll probably need to at regionals.”
For the men’s team, the Broncos worked together as a pack to narrowly steal away the runner-up spot from the University of Nevada, Reno. They were led by McCoy Brooks ’29, who took 12th place with a time of 23:57.6, followed by Jacob McManus ’29, who took 21st place with a time of 24:17.4, and William Carroll ’29, who finished 23rd with a time of 24:19.2.
Zafer Courcelle ’29 crossed in 26th, and Kingston Shillito ’30 finished 33rd to round out an all-underclassmen top five. The Broncos totaled 78 points, finishing behind only Chico State’s 46, and were the top WCC team in the field.
All seven of the Broncos’ top runners finished among the top 40 in the field.
Head coach Felipe Montoro was pleased with the collective effort his group put on display.
“Really pleased,” Montoro said. “I thought the guys really got after it. We want to get out there, be competitive, try to win the race, and I’m really proud of their efforts.”
Montoro singled out Brooks, whose run marked a major step forward.
“Big breakout for McCoy,” Montoro said. “Cross country times, we don’t really pay attention to too much, but when you drop a minute off your 8,000-meter best, that’s significant.”
Montoro held a couple of banged-up runners out of Saturday’s race and hopes to have one or two back in time for the conference meet.
“The guys that ran today are ready, look great, and we’re excited to give it a shot,” he said.
Next, both Broncos’ cross country teams will travel to San Diego on Oct. 30 to compete in the 2026 WCC Championship.