By Emily Montano, Oct. 11, 2022
On Oct. 8, the Cal Poly Pomona men’s and women’s cross-country teams raced at the 13th Annual Pomona-Pitzer Invitational Saturday morning in Claremont placing second and fifth respectively.
The top five finishers for the men’s team collectively placed second overall with 50 points, with Leandro Candray earning a runner-up finish among all 168 runners with a time of 24:48.8.
Candray ran a smart race, leading the pack from the beginning and finishing strong through adversity.
“Starting the race, I went out really fast, I kept myself up in the top group and I felt really good the entire way. It wasn’t until that last mile when things started to get a little rough, but I pushed through,” said Candray.
The women’s team placed fifth overall, scoring 127 points altogether, led by Samantha Aguilar and Vivian Martinez for 18th and 19th place clocking in at 22:49.4 and 22:51.2.
“I think this was one of the more challenging courses we’ve done throughout the season right now, but what really helped was that we communicated as a team,” said Martinez. “We started off as a pack, but we all communicated with each other a lot more than past races as well. And I think that helped me stay into the race a lot longer, and it woke me up.”
Bradford was satisfied with both CPP teams’ performances at the meet despite acknowledging places to improve in.
“Our men ran solid, we ended up 2nd, and in that way we ran well. There were definitely some positives there. I think there are some places in the meet where we can get better, and we need to work on that going forward as we get close to the postseason,” said Bradford.
For the women’s team, Bradford believes they ran well as a group with some individuals stepping up, hoping there’s more room for improvement.
“Our goals aren’t going to change. I think we have to make the changes to make those goals work. We’re still going to keep working towards what we talked about at the beginning of the year,” said Bradford.
Candray wishes to surprise himself on an individual level while establishing his team as powerhouses in upcoming races.
“It’s more so putting my heart into every race and doing the best that I can, especially for my team regardless of who’s on the line,” said Candray.
In a similar fashion, Martinez wants to showcase her strength despite this being her first taste of competition.
“Just being able to stay with the girls throughout the whole season, as it is my first year. I don’t want to be expected to die out at the end of the season. I want to be able to push myself and stay with them the whole time,” said Martinez.
With postseason races approaching, the Broncos enter the last stretch toward their championship aspirations.
“The next six or eight weeks are going to be a pretty exciting time for us, to prepare. We’re going to keep progressing, running faster workouts and working at peaking, but there’s still a lot of time and work ahead of us before we get there,” said Bradford.
On Oct. 22, the team will travel to the NCAA DII pre-nationals in University Place, Washington. You can stream this meet on the CCAA Network or the BroncoAthletics websites.
Feature image courtesy of CPP Athletics
