SUNNYVALE, Calif. – The University of California, Merced cross country teams ran its final race before the CCAA Championships, racing at the Bronco Invitational on Saturday morning at Baylands Reigonal Park.

UC Merced fielded a team in both the men's and women's invite and men's and women's open.

Kitto Gonzalez led the Bobcats in the men's 8k invite, taking 25^th place with a time of 24:21.6. His time is the new second fastest time in program history. Emma Drelinger was the Bobcats top finisher in the women's 6k invite with a UC Merced Bronco Invitational record time of 21:18.2, good for 31^st in the field.

The men's 8k invite was the first race of the day. Sharvin Manjrekar was 37^th and neared a personal-best time, crossing the finish line in 24:35.2.  Buffalo Soito was next in 25:38.4, a 127^th place finish. Soito's Bronco Invitational time ranks seventh in program history. Cole Rommelfanger finished in 26:20.1 for 173^rd and Sergio Vivar Jr. took 200^th in 26:56.6.

After Drelinger was Leslie Aquino in the women's 6k invite. Aquino, who ran the second fastest Bronco Invitational time in program history in 21:37.5, took 47^th place. Maitha Alradaei was the Bobcats third scorer, finishing 149^th in a personal-best time of 23:11.7. The freshman now ranks seventh for the Bobcats all-time at the Bronco Invitational. Gabriela Zarat Ruiz (175^th/23:50.7) and Irene Martinez (199^th/25:09.6) rounded out the Bobcats scorers. Zarat Ruiz's time was a personal-best, while Martinez returned from injury to run her first race since September 12.

Kevin Pedroza highlighted Bobcats in the men's 8k open with a 15^th-place finish in a personal-best time of 26:08.3, taking over the Bobcats tenth spot in meet history. Other notables include a personal-best time for Miguel Rebollo Estrada in 27:03.3 and a 38^th place finish with a time 26:34.8 in Giovanni Mejia's collegiate debut.

Itzel D. Alonzo-Andrade was the Bobcats top finisher in the women's 6k open, placing 82^nd in a personal-best 25:10.2. Ava Cockrum turned in a time of 25:20.5 for 84^th place in her collegiate debut. Gigiana Baker (111^th/27:39.8) also ran a personal-best time.

As a team, UC Merced took 16^th in the men's 8k invite, 18^th in the women's 6k invite, 5^th in the men's 8k open, and 13^th in the women's 6k open.

Up next, UC Merced will compete in the CCAA Championships on Saturday, November 7 at CSUSB XC Course in San Bernardino, Calif. The men's 8k is scheduled for 10:00am, while the women's 6k is at 11:00am.