Meet Results
 
SUNNYVALE, CA. – The Loyola Marymount University Lions Men's and Women's Cross Country teams returned to the course this weekend and competed in the Bronco Invitational at Baylands Park in Sunnyvale, California.
 
With just two weeks until the West Coast Conference Championships in Concord the Bronco Invitational provided the Lions with another tune-up to post top times. The Lion men and women both finished seventh overall with the men third among WCC opponents and the women fourth. 
 
The day started with the men's 8k invitational and LMU's Estanis Ruiz setting the tone for the Lion runners, crossing the finish line seventh overall with a time of 24:00.1. Ruiz's time in the 8k race put him in 5th place in LMU history for that distance. Ethan Frisone and Roberto Ruelas also etched their names in the Lions record books on Saturday. Frisone's time of 24:28.3 put him in 13th place on the Lions All-Time list while Ruelas' 24:29.0 placed him 14th for the Lions. 
 
Zach Arias posted a career best finish at the race with his time of 24:53.3 while Christoph Wallner crossed at 25:21.0 with Shane Ely and Cooper McCarthy posting times of 25:27.3 and 25:41.4, respectively. 
 
"I am really pleased with how we ran today," said Men's Team Head Coach Jason Zarb-Cousin. "With this being the final tune-up before conference, it tells us what we need to work on over the next two weeks to continue to improve."
 
The women's 6k invitational race resulted in LMU's Claire Graves posting a top-20 finish crossing the line at 20:55.0 for 18th overall. Graves' time bested that of Coach Curtis' for 12th on the Lions All-Time list in the 6k. The Lions Lilly Schmidt also ran herself into LMU's record book when she crossed the finish line at 21:09.5 placing her 16th on the All-Time list. 
 
Samantha Barajas was one of five Lions who posted career bests on Saturday. She finished the meet with a time of 21:28.8 followed by Anastasia Russell's top-50 time of 21:48.9. Avery Doan was the next Lion to cross at 22:16.1 followed by Kaitlyn Childress at 22:45.1 and Marina Soares at 22:48.8. With their all-around strong performance at the Bronco Invitational the women's team finished in seventh place just one point behind Saint Mary's. 
 
"Strong performance by our women's team today with most of the squad running career or season bests, but we are not satisfied," said Women's Team Head Coach Chloe Curtis. "It was a tight battle with conference rivals St. Mary's and Santa Clara, so we're looking forward to facing them again in two weeks."
 
In the men's 8k open race, Adam Trafecanty led the Lions with his career best time of 25:43.2 followed by Caden Farrow, who made his LMU debut, crossing the line at a career best 26:00.5 and Max Smith at 26:16.0. Hunter Krasa was the next LMU runner to finish the race at 26:56.8 followed by Bennett Woolsey at 27:21.3 and Nolan Getchell at 27:22.8. As a team the Lions finished fourth overall and second among WCC schools. 
 
Next up for the Lions is the WCC Championships on Friday, October 29th in Concord, California.
 
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