Sophomore Bryan Hayes led the University of La Verne men's cross country squad with a ninth-place finish at the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational Saturday. 

The Leopards scored 189 points to take sixth in a field of 13 teams, including multiple NCAA Division I programs. Cal Poly Pomona won the competition only 36 points while Bronco senior John Carrell was first in the 165-runner field with a time of 25 minutes, 10.6 seconds.

Hayes covered the 8,000-meter course in 25:41.3. Freshman Tanner Long was the second Leo across the line in 32nd (26:30.8) while senior Alberto Acosta was close behind in 44th (26:49.2). Junior Ted Breslow and sophomore Daniel Guasso finished 69th (27:20.8) and 71st (27:22.8) respectively. Junior Jayden Earlywine was 84th (27:46.2) and freshman Drew Sato took 113th (28:23.2) to round out the La Verne scoring runners on the day.

West Regiona No. 2 host Pomona-Pitzer took second (65) in the team scoring while a partial squad for top-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps was fourth (122). The Leopards are ranked fourth in region, but were not at full strength Saturday. Senior Cristobal Gutierrez and freshman Alex Orozco were absent from the lineup but expected to return for the next outing.

The Leopards will be off next weekend before a return to action at the SCIAC Multi-Dual on Oct. 18. The men's race is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. at La Mirada Park in La Mirada, Calif.