Sept. 28, 2006

SANTA CLARA, Calif. --The Santa Clara men's and women's cross country teams will be embarking on what will likely be their busiest weekend of the season, as they split up to take part in two different competitions this weekend. The Broncos top 15 runners are on their way to South Bend, Ind. for the Notre Dame Invitational, which takes place on Friday, September 29th, and the rest of the team will travel up the peninsula for the Stanford Invitational on Saturday, September 30th. Friday's races begin with the women at 11:00 a.m. PT, followed by the men's race at approx. 11:45 a.m. PT. Saturday's action involves four different races, beginning at 4:15 p.m. PT.

For those heading to Notre Dame, they have had a solid two weeks of training since the Sundodger Invitational on September 16th. The Broncos will look for strong performances from the likes of Shannon Bell, Chris Gumbs and Mike Delaurenti, and will also have the opportunity to showcase a few of the freshmen who have caught our attention with their strong performances so far this season.

"We were excited at the beginning of the year when we knew we had this great group of freshmen", said head coach Tom Service. "The future looks very bright for them".

Out of the 15 runners making the trip to South Bend, Ind., five are freshmen, which is an outstanding measure of the young talent this team has. And it's a good thing, because they now head into what is probably one of the biggest racing weekends outside of the WCC or NCAA Championships. The Notre Dame Invitational boasts a long list of nationally ranked teams. In addition, the Broncos will get to match up against WCC opponent Gonzaga, who edged out the Santa Clara men in the Sundodger Invitational.

And for those not traveling to Notre Dame, Saturday's Stanford Invitational will be another great opportunity for the Broncos to represent Santa Clara in one of the largest meets on the West Coast. Unfortunately, the Stanford Invitational is getting some of its hype taken away because of all the other big races going on this weekend. In the past, the Stanford Invitational and the Notre Dame Invitational have been scheduled at least week apart, but in 2006 have been scheduled only a day apart.

Saturday's race, though, will be another great opportunity for Bay Area friends and family of to support Broncos cross country. Saturday's races begin at 4:15 p.m. at the Stanford Golf Course.