SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – The Cal Poly Pomona men's cross country team turned in a balanced performance at the Master's University XC College Invitational on Saturday morning in Santa Clarita, placing six runners in the Top 55 of a deep 220-athlete field.
 
Leading the charge for the Broncos was Nathan Sackett, the grandson of Cal Poly Pomona legendary cross country/track & field coach Jim Sackett, who clocked a time of 25:19.6 over the 8,000-meter course to place 16th overall. He was followed closely by Luke D'Elia, who crossed in 20th place with a time of 25:33.4, giving CPP a pair of finishers in the Top 20.
 
Rounding out the Broncos' top five were Micah Chandler (29th, 25:51.5), Trajan Cephas (38th, 26:02.6), and Derek Ynfante (44th, 26:10.1), all within a minute of each other and showing strong pack running that kept CPP competitive among regionally-ranked programs.
 
Close behind, Diego Garcia (47th, 26:12.2) and Thomas Doherty (52nd, 26:21.1) added critical depth, while Mason Colwell (163rd, 29:04.7) completed the Broncos' lineup.
 
The Broncos were the second-fasted Division II team on the course, finishing fourth overall with 136 points, while averaging a time of 25:47.44, or 5:11 per mile.
 
 
Up Next
The No. 13 ranked Broncos will travel to Kenosha, Wisconsin next Saturday, September 27^th, for the Lucian Rose Invitational hosted by University of Wisconsin Parkside. It will be the team's fourth time ever running the course, and their first time doing so since 1997, as the UW-Parkside Course is famously the site of CPP's only national championship in 1983.
 
 
Bronco Bits

• The Broncos currently have a 23-3 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 554-197 record since 2017.
• This was the first time CPP had ever competed at The Master's Invitational in Santa Clarita.
• Saturday was Nathan Sackett's first top finish for CPP.