Cal Men Take Second, Women Third At Bronco Invite

Cal closes out the regular season with a strong showing.

XC10/14/2023 2:11 PM | By: Cal Athletics

Thirteen Bears Race Personal-Best Times

SUNNYVALE – California men’s and women’s cross country both had stellar showings at the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational on Saturday morning, with the men bringing home a second-place team finish and the women’s team taking third place overall. A whopping 13 Golden Bears recorded personal bests at the meet.
 
“I’m really proud of both teams’ efforts today,” Cal head coach Bobby Lockhart said. “It was exciting to see the athletes come together and race how they have been training this season. It couldn’t have come at a better time as we gear up for the Pac-12 Championships. It’s one thing to have performances like this in a non-championship setting, but doing it when it matters is key. I have full confidence that this team will run its best when it counts most.”
 
The men’s squad handed in a strong performance, with five top-20 finishes that were all personal records for the Bears. Cal collected three top-10 positions, with Carrick Denker (23:39.9) and Garrett MacQuiddy (23:40.1) locking in sixth and seventh place overall and Caden Carney (23:41.1) clinching 10th. All three were the fastest each has raced the 8,000-meter event in their collegiate careers.
 
John Sesteaga (23:54.9) and Justin Pretre (23:59.5) came in 14th and 16th, respectively, with personal record times to lift the Bears to their runner-up finish. Alexander Lodewick also ran a personal-best 24:36.1. The team was a mere three points behind the Bronco Invite champions, the No. 28 Cal Poly Mustangs.
 
“The men ran the best I’ve seen collectively,” Lockhart said. “We had a 20 second spread one-to-five – can’t ask for much more. And hats off to freshman Justin Pretre with a career performance as our fifth man.”
 
On the women’s side, Claire Yerby paced the Bears with her eighth-place finish and personal-best 20:09.5 in the 6,000-meter race. Amelia Wardle-Stacey was just behind Yerby in ninth place with her collegiate fastest 20:09.9.
 
Sage Holter was the Bears’ third scorer, posting a personal-best 21:05.1 mark. Addie Johnson (21:11.4) Anastasia Snodgrass (21:30.7), Sophie Tau (21:48.9) and Sydney Morrow (22:50.2) also recorded personal bests to help…