April 19, 2003

DAVIS, Calif. - Junior Ricky Brackett finished ninth in the 5,000-meters to lead three Bronco distance runners in the open division at the Woody Wilson Invitational hosted by UC Davis Saturday.

The event, which started during daylight and concluded under the bright lights of Woody Wilson Track at Toomey Field, was a non-scoring open meet that attracted several hundred athletes from throughout Northern California and surrounding states.

Brackett, a native of Bellevue, Wash., registered a season-best time of 15:14.09 and finished ninth in the 27-competitor 5,000-meter field. Freshman John Hinman (Bend, Ore.) finished 17th in the same race with a time of 15:32.14 in his season debut at that distance.

Freshman Bryan Lorentz (San Francisco, Calif.) competed in the 1,500-meters, finishing 16th in a time of 4:08.91, which was :12 seconds faster than his previous best time earlier this season.

"Brian ran very well and was able to finish really strong over the last 150-meters to narrow the gap in relation to the leaders of his heat," said Head Coach John Maloney. "It was his best effort of the season."

The Broncos were denied entries to five members of their 5000-meter contingent when the field was cut down to accommodate one heat. "John surged at the 2000-meter mark and dropped out of the race just before the halfway point," said Maloney. "Ricky ran strong to the end after a fast start took its toll. He narrowly missed his seasonal best while running unattached at Stanford in March."

The Santa Clara men and women's distance squads return to action Saturday at the Chico Invitational.