By: Tyler Lobe, Assistant Athletics Director for Communications
OFFICIAL RESULTS
MONMOUTH, Ore. -- Diego Duran and
Vincent Sarino earned 2021 All-West Region honors with 16th and 17th place finishes, respectively, as they led the Cal Poly Pomona men's cross country team to a third place finish at the 2021 NCAA Division II West Region Championships on Saturday morning at Ash Creek Preserve in Monmouth, Ore.
With the third place finish, the Broncos earn an automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division II National Championships in two weeks on Nov. 20 in Saint Leo, Fla. It will be the third straight appearance at nationals for CPP, and the seventh appearance in the last eight seasons.
The Broncos overcame a rain-soaked course to earn their sixth Top 3 finish since 2013, and even rallied from 11th place as a team after the first 1.5 kilometers to jump up to third place at the 6.1-kilometer split, a place they held until the very end, holding off Azusa Pacific by a single point in the final standings.
Chico State won the team title for the fifth straight year, and for the 16th time in the last 19 years. All of the Wildcats' top five finishers placed in the Top 15 overall to score a 47 for the day. Fresno Pacific took runner-up honors with 109 points, followed by Cal Poly Pomona with 138 and Azusa Pacific in fourth at 139. Western Washington rounded out the Top 5 teams with 147 points.
Duran toppled the muddy 10-kilometer course in 31:25.0 while Sarino came in less than a second later at 31:25.6.
Gideon Pichardo came in 37th with a time of 31:55.0,
Francisco Zavaleta took 39th in a time of 31:59.9 and
Daniel Echeveste was 40th overall with a time of 32:00.8.
Leandro Candray placed 90th overall, running the course with just one shoe after losing a boot in just the first kilometer, crossing the line in 33:14.8.
Nicholas Albro came in 96th in a time of 33:24.1.
Patrick Kiprop, a freshman from Fresno Pacific, earned the individual title for the men, crossing the line in front of 146 other runners at a time of 30:12.6, a full 42 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Shea Vavra from Cal State San Marcos.
Cal Poly Pomona will now turn its focus to the 2021 NCAA Division II National Championships on Nov. 20, which takes place at the Abbey Course in Saint Leo, Fla. The race will begin at 6:45 am Pacific Time (9:45 am Eastern Time).
