Broncos Storm Berkeley Meet

Track athletes run in Brutus Hamilton Invitational last weekend

Claire McLoughlinTHE SANTA CLARAApril 30, 2015

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he women’s track team saw several top-10 finishers this weekend  at the Brutus Hamilton Invitational on Friday.

At the University of California, Berkeley, 20 athletes competed in a Bronco uniform in seven different events. 

The women’s team entered runners in the 800, 1500 and 5,000 meter races, and had athletes finish in the top 10 in both the 800 and 1500 meter competitions.

The men’s team also competed in the same races, with sophomore Joey Berriatua going solo and running in the finals of the one-mile race on Saturday. Friday’s races concluded with two big performances from junior Nicholas Mantovani, who finished sixth in the men’s 800 meters, and freshman Andrew Melendez, who took second in his heat and 25th overall in the grueling 5,000 meter.

“I really like running against conference opponents, and it really pushed me to do the best I could do,” said Melendez.

Berriatua shared in the Broncos’ success on Saturday, when he nabbed ninth place in the men’s one-mile race. 

“The competition in my race was very deep,” Berriatua said. “It was a great race to go along for the ride and run a fast time.”

After the Payton Jordan Invitational, the track schedule begins to wind down, and there are only two meets before the NCAA Opening Round. Berriatua says this time of the year is his favorite.

“I believe that the season so far is only the tip of the iceberg of how we’re going to perform in the closing races of the season,” he said. “A lot of runners on our team are due to run fast.” Melendez is also looking forward to next year.

“We have a large class coming in and a lot of guys stepping up,” he said. “It should be a lot of fun.”

Contact Claire McLoughlin at camcloughlin@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.