CHICO, Calif. - The Cal Poly Pomona men's cross country team gave Chico State a run for their money at the 2025 CCAA Cross Country Championships on Friday morning, finishing just six points behind the Wildcats for the closest CCAA finish in 34 years. The 8,000-meter race was hosted at Hooker Oak Park in Chico, as Chico State ultimately extended its conference winning streak to 23 straight titles.
 
The Broncos posted a team total of 2:03:35 with an average time of 24:43 per runner. Junior Ricardo Vargas led the way for Cal Poly Pomona, placing third overall in 24:31.6 to spearhead the Broncos' front pack, also marking the sixth-fastest time in a conference championship in school history.
 
Senior Jacob Shirota followed in fifth (24:39.3), while Juan Ramos clocked 24:45.5 to take seventh, keeping CPP firmly in contention for the title. Shirota was named CCAA Newcomer of the Year for his performance, the first time a Bronco has earned the award since his teammate Vargas won it back in 2022. It marks the fifth time a Bronco has won the award since it was introduced in 2006.
 
Seniors Francisco Zavaleta and Daniel Echeveste rounded out the scoring five with near-identical performances, finishing 10th (24:49.0) and 11th (24:50.8) respectively. Senior Tom McDonnell added another Top-15 effort in 12th (24:52.7), giving Cal Poly Pomona six runners in the top dozen overall. Those six each earned All-CCAA honors, tying 2023 for the most all-conference honorees in a season, while each also ranked in the Top 20 fastest conference meet times in program history.
 
Jimmy Guerrero placed 20th (25:27.4), while freshman Micah Clemons (25:29.1), junior Elijah Ocegueda (25:34.2), and senior Chris Razo (25:55.3) also turned in strong performances to complete the Broncos' deep lineup. All 10 runners for CPP finished in the Top 30 of the race.
 
With their runner-up finish, the Broncos once again reaffirm themselves as one of the premier programs in the conference and West Region. Cal Poly Pomona has now finished second place to Chico State in each of the past five conference championships since 2021, and 10 of the past 12.
 
 
Up Next
The Broncos will compete in the NCAA West Regionals on Saturday, November 8th, in Monmouth, Oregon. The team looks to make their third consecutive trip to the NCAA National Championships.
 
 
Bronco Bits

• The Broncos currently have a 68-9 record this season. A "win" is a team they finished ahead of, while a "loss" is teams they finished behind.
• Head coach Chris Bradford's teams have a 599-203 record since 2017.
• Saturday was Ricardo Vargas' ninth top finish for CPP in a race, tying for fifth-most all-time.
• The Broncos' 36 points is the lowest of a runner-up in the CCAA Championships since 1991, when Cal Poly SLO had 35 behind champion UC Riverside with 30.