Runners Split Full Weekend

Cross-country competes in California and MinnesotaClaire McLoughlinTHE SANTA CLARAOctober 2, 2014

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he men and women’s cross-country teams made strong showings in two different venues this weekend.The women’s team stayed local and competed at the Stanford Invitational, while the men’s team split the team in half, running at both Stanford and the Roy Griak Invitational in Falcon Heights, Minn.The women had standout performances from two freshmen, Hannah Wood and Grayson Murphy. Wood and Murphy, competing in the 6K, crossed the finish line within a second of each other and were followed by senior Kelly Ryan.

“I think it was a really good experience,” said Wood. “You have to go out strong and assert yourself, and it definitely made me think about how we can better race against (Stanford University) in the future.”The men’s team was led by senior Sean Roe who ran a time of 25:56 in the 8K. Freshman Andrew Melendez crossed the finish line six seconds after Roe with upperclassmen Tony Ferrari and Leland Wong close on his heels.Several states away, the other half of the men’s team dueled it out with cross-country powerhouses such as Colorado State University, University of Texas at Austin and University of North Carolina.Santa Clara entered the 8K race with a seven-man team comprised of Bryan Crook, Kurt Ruegg, Noah Westfall, Ryan Greenough, Adrian Hinojosa, Peter Stephens and Joey Berriatua.Greenough, a junior, cruised into the finish of the 8K race with a time of 25:55 putting him 50th out of 301 runners.

“I didn’t run cross-country at all last year so it’s still pretty new to me,” Greenough said. “It helps to have (Ruegg) on the team...(he) has championship experience and he’s just a great guy overall. He trains right and is a good leader on and off the race course.”Ruegg and Crook also placed in the top 100 runners at the event, taking 60th and 76th place respectively.These top finishes, combined with solid races by the rest of the squad, put the Broncos at 20th place out of 31 teams. The women’s team will travel to Missoula, Mont. on Saturday, Oct. 4 to compete in the Montana Invitational, then join the men’s team, who continue to train for San Francisco State Invitational on Oct. 10. Contact Claire McLoughlin at camcloughlin@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.