XC | Gaels look for more at Bronco Invitational
10/10/2012 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- The improvement continues week by week, but the Saint Mary's cross country team knows it is capable of more.
That theory will be tested this weekend, as the Gaels head to Sunnyvale on Saturday to compete in the Bronco Invitational hosted by Santa Clara. The meet begins at 9 a.m. at Baylands Regional Park.
In many ways, forward momentum isn't a problem for Saint Mary's after the Stanford Invitational left the Gaels with plenty of positives.
Leading the way was Rajpaul Pannu, as the junior led all West Coast Conference finishers with a time of 24 minutes, 35 seconds on the 8-kilometer course.
"Raj went from being kind of a middle to front pack runner to being one of the guys that are contending for the championship," Gaels head coach Marty Kinsey said. "He was in the front pack for the majority of the race and ended up running 24:35, which tied our school record and put him in a place that he's looking forward to improving further on in conference."
Pannu posted the best time of the day, but the men's team took a step forward as a whole, setting a team time record with an average time of 25:55. Sophomore Nick Ellingson set a personal best with a time of 25:33, and freshmen David Salas and Zach Hansen weren't far behind.
That improvement will need to continue this week, because many of the same teams that competed at Stanford will again line up against the Gaels.
That list starts with the Cardinal, which will send a "B" squad to the Bronco Invitational. Ranked No. 2 in the West region, Stanford is one of four Pac-12 schools (California, Colorado, UCLA) competing in Sunnyvale. Saint Mary's, San Diego, San Francisco and the host Broncos will represent the WCC.
On the women's side, Cristina Garcia will try to carry the momentum she gained at Stanford into this weekend's meet. Garcia stopped the clock in a personal best 22:10 to lead the Gaels, followed by freshman Carina Novell and senior captain Erin Burke, who also set a personal best with a time of 23:33.
Kinsey said after the Stanford race that the Gaels women had plenty of room still left to improve, and that will need to be the case against another good field this weekend.
Just like on the men's side, Stanford headlines the teams competing in the women's race. The Cardinal women, ranked No. 4 in the West, will also field a "B" team this weekend. UC Davis, ranked No. 6 in the West, and No. 8 California will also compete.
From an overall standpoint, the goal remains the same for Saint Mary's -- continue improving and continue building momentum for the WCC Championships.
"When it comes down to it, it's a fast course with a lot of good competition," Kinsey said. "So we want to see them put it out there and test the limits a little bit and run with some guts."
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