RIVERSIDE, Calif. - The No. 22 Cal Poly Pomona men's cross country team placed fifth Saturday morning at the 42nd Annual UC Riverside Invitational, held at the UCR Agricultural Operations (Ag Ops) Course.

CPP compiled 153 points with 21 other squads in the field for the eight-kilometer invitational race. Southern Utah earned the team title at 41 points, with Utah Valley (104), Arizona (127) and No. 16 Azusa Pacific (142) also outpointing the Broncos.

Cal Poly Pomona finished ahead of NCAA Division I programs UC Irvine, Long Beach State, Pepperdine, Grand Canyon, UC Santa Barbara, Utah Tech and CSUN, as well as California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) foe Cal State San Marcos in 16th.

Daniel Echeveste, a first-time CCAA Runner of the Week on Sept. 4 after leading his Broncos to a team win at the season-opening Seawolf Invite in Fresno two days prior, was the first Bronco across the line for the second meet in a row to begin this 2023 campaign. The true junior and Pomona native ran a personal-record 24:10.9 for 17th place. He advanced two spots after the 7.5K marker. Echeveste's previous best for 8K was 24.49.5 from last Oct. 22 in University Place, Wash.

Third-year sophomore Ricardo Vargas (24:16.5) and junior Leandro Candray (personal-record 24:17.1), both 2022 NCAA Division II All-West Region honorees, came in back-to-back in 25th and 26th. It was Vargas' season debut after sitting out the Seawolf Invite.

The remaining Bronco point-scorers were junior Francisco Zavaleta (51st, 24:35.4) and sixth-year senior Nicholas Albro (55th, 24:36.1). Also involved for CPP were another sixth-year senior in Vincent Sarino (61st, 24:39.8), redshirt freshman Juan Ramos (93rd, 25:03.8), third-year sophomore Chris Razo (119th, 25:21.5), and juniors Evan Franco (138th, 25:36.1) and Trevor Benson (197th, 26:38.7). A total of 215 competitors completed the invitational 8K.

Cal Poly Pomona is right back in action next Saturday, Sept. 23, making the trip south to San Marcos for the Cougar Challenge at CCAA rival Cal State San Marcos' Mangrum Track & Field. The men are slated for a 9:15 a.m. start to their 8K, following the women's 6K at 8:30 a.m.

Bronco Bits: Cal Poly Pomona is ranked fourth in the West Region by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) ... The Broncos were picked for second in the CCAA preseason poll, only behind 20-time defending league champion and six-time reigning West Region victor Chico State ... Saturday marked CPP's first UC Riverside Invitational since exactly six years ago on Sept. 16, 2017, when it placed seventh early in seventh-year head coach Chris Bradford's first season in charge ... The invitational race was the first collegiate 8K for Juan Ramos ... Leandro Candray's prior best at the 8K distance was 24:22.1, also coming in University Place, Wash., last Oct. 22 … Saturday's 8K times were personal records as well for Francisco Zavaleta (25:13.2 previous), Nicholas Albro (25:07.2), Vincent Sarino (24:47.2) and Trevor Benson (28:49.4), with Benson making his season debut ... A trio of true freshman Broncos later competed unattached in the 8K open section.

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