RESULTS

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Racing on a fast course at the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational, the Portland State cross country program showed its wheels Saturday with 12 of the program's 14 finishers between the women's and men's invitational races setting personal bests at the meet.
 
Portland State head coach Jonathan Marcus described it in the leadup to the meet.
 
"Fast people do fast things and we're fast, too," Marcus said midweek.
 
His Vikings delivered in that regard against what was by far the most competitive field they had faced to this point of the season. Saturday's personal bests will inform what the Vikings do for their final tweaks before the Big Sky Championships on Oct. 27.
 
The men kicked off the meet for the Vikings with all five runners setting personal bests in the invitational 8k at the Bronco Invite.
 
"The men gained valuable exposure to what higher caliber competition looks and feels like," Marcus said of the men's team. "We learned a lot today, especially our true freshmen. They ran tough but are far from satisfied. We'll use our learnings from today to get better for the Big Sky meet."
 
Zach Grams and Abdi Ibrahim led the men's team with a pair of top 50 finishes as they became the first Vikings to dip under 25 minutes in the 8k this season. Grams finished 42nd overall in 24:31.8, beating his previous personal best by 15 seconds. Ibrahim, meanwhile, finished 48th overall in 24:36.4, bettering a personal best that has stood since the 2019 Charles Bowles Invitational by 33 seconds.
 
Abdinajib Abade finished as the men's team's third runner, placing 127th overall in 26:17.2. Abade bettered his personal best by more than 70 seconds despite setting it only three weeks ago at the Mike Johnson Classic on Sept. 22.
 
Freshman Amir Ahmed also set his previous best at the Mike Johnson Classic, but beat his time from that meet by 17 seconds while finishing 138th overall in 27:23.0. Fellow freshman Lyness Ota set the biggest personal best of the day while finishing just behind Ahmed at 139th overall. Ota crossed the line in 27:24.3, shaving 95 seconds off a time he set only two weeks ago at the Charles Bowles Invitational.
 
Seven of the nine Portland State women who finished the invitational 6k at the Bronco Invite also set personal bests. That included the team's lead runner, Jamie Zamrin, who shaved 15 seconds off the personal best she set at last year's NCAA West Regional with a finish in 21:05.8, placing 35th overall. Abi Swain joined Zamrin in the top 50 at 44th overall, though they settled for a 23-second seasonal best in 21:16.1 rather than a PB.
 
Laura Beghin finished as the women's third runner, placing 83rd overall in 21:58.1. Beghin's time gave her one of the bigger personal bests for the Viking women Saturday, as she shaved just under 50 seconds off the personal best she set at the Oak Knoll Loop Run four weeks earlier.
 
Taylor Nichols set an even bigger personal best than Beghin, shaving 82 seconds off her time from the Oak Knoll Loop Run with a finish in 22:10.5, placing 103rd overall.
 
Peyten Woodruff closed out the women's team score with a 138th overall finish. She crossed the line in 22:51.6, 16 seconds faster than her time at the Oak Knoll Loop Run.
 
Kynzie DeLeon knocked 32 seconds off her personal best from two years ago at the 2021 L&C Invite while placing 150th overall in 23:09.4.
 
Dyllan Newville claimed the biggest personal best of the day for the Viking women as she shaved 91 seconds off her previous best from last year's L&C Invite while finishing 159th overall in 23:28.6.
 
Campbell Faust (23:35.3) and Addison Capozzi (23:52.1) rounded out the Vikings' contingent in invitational 6k at 163rd and 167th overall, respectively. Faust's time represented a 19-second improvement from the 2021 L&C Invite.
 
"The women's team demonstrated a lot of heart and bravery today. I'm impressed," Marcus said of his women's team. "Everyone stepped up and competed to the best of their abilities and beyond. It's great seeing so many Vikings setting new PRs today. Our hard work is clearly paying off."
 
Wendy Hare also competed by herself in the women's open 6k at the Bronco Invitational Saturday. Running her first-ever cross country race, Hare finished 184th overall in 28:07.5.
 
The Vikings now head into the postseason with the Big Sky Championships next up on Oct. 27.
 
The postseason is all about fast people doing fast things. Fortunately for the Vikings, they got practice doing just that Saturday.
 
 
Santa Clara Bronco Invitational
Baylands Regional Park
Santa Clara, Calif.
Oct. 14, 2023
 
Women's Top Ten Finishers (Invitational 6k):
1. Rosina Machu, Gonzaga, 19:16.3; 2. Natalia Ruiz Lara, UNLV, 19:56.2; 3. Sadie Tuckwood, Gonzaga, 19:57.1; 4. Yasmine Abbes, San Francisco, 19:59.4; 5. Madisan DeBos, 20:00.1; 6. Sameen Andar, UC Irvine, 20:06.3; 7. Rayna Stanziano, St. Mary's (Calif.), 20:07.2; 8. Claire Yerby, California, 20:09.5; 9. Amelia Stacey, California, 20:09.9; 10. Clarissa Hill, Unattached, 20:09.9.
 
Women's Team Scores (Invitational 6k):
1. Gonzaga, 40 points; 2. San Francisco, 118 points; 3. California, 122 points; 4. UC Irvine, 148 points. 5. Santa Clara, 181 points; 6. Sacramento State, 192 points; 7. Southern Utah, 204 points; 8. St. Mary's (Calif.), 207 points; 9. UC Santa Barbara, 209 points; 10. Salt Lake, 272 points; 11. Grand Canyon, 301 points; 12. CSUN, 353 points; 13. Fresno State, 360 points; 14. Portland State, 361 points; 15. Pepperdine, 362 points; 16. Loyola Marymount, 387 points; 17. UNLV, 415 points; 18. Southern Oregon, 519 points; 19. Hawaii, 534 points; 20. San Jose State, 578 points; 21. CSU Bakersfield, 608 points.
 
Portland State Runners (out of 187 in the Invitational 6k):
35. Jamie Zamrin, 21:05.6; 44. Abi Swain, 21:16.1; 83. Laura Beghin, 21:58.1; 103. Taylor Nichols, 22:10.5; 138. Peyten Woodruff, 22:51.6; 150. Kynzie DeLeon, 23:09.4; 159. Dyllan Newville, 23:28.6; 163. Campbell Faust, 23:35.3; 167. Addison Capozzi, 23:52.1.
 
Women's Open 6k (out of 201):
184. Wendy Hare, 28:07.5.
 
Men's Top Ten Finishers (Invitational 8k):
1. Davis Bove, Cal Poly, 23:14.4; 2. Jacob Cann, San Francisco, 23:20.0; 3. Ethan Godsey, UC Santa Barbara, 23:21.8; 4. Ed Buck, San Francisco, 23:29.6; 5. JaQuavious Harris, Salt Lake, 23:29.7; 6. Carrick Denker, California, 23:39.9; 7. Garrett MacQuiddy, California, 23:40.1; 8. Colton Swinth, Cal Poly, 23:41.1; 9. Spencer Pickren, Cal Poly, 23:44.6; 10. Caden Carney, California, 23:47.0.
 
Men's Team Scores (Invitational 8k):
1. Cal Poly, 49 points; 2. California, 52 points; 3. UC Santa Barbara, 94 points; 4. San Francisco, 123 points; 5. Salt Lake, 124 points; 6. Loyola Marymount, 137 points; 7. UC Irvine, 211 points; 8. St. Mary's (Calif.), 255 points; 9. Pepperdine, 258 points; 10. CSUN, 286 points; 11. Grand Canyon, 290 points; 12. Southern Oregon, 352 points; 13. Portland State, 373 points; 14. Santa Clara, 383 points; 15. San Jose State, 439 points; 16. Fresno State, 453 points.
 
Portland State Runners (out of 149 in the Invitational 8k):
42. Zach Grams, 24:31.5; 48. Abdi Ibrahim, 24:36.4; 127. Abdinajib Abade, 26:17.4; 138. Amir Ahmed, 27:23.0; 139. Lyness Ota, 27:24.3.