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Hayes earns NCAA championships berth, Leopards fifth overall

Hayes earns NCAA championships berth, Leopards fifth overall

CLAREMONT- The University of La Verne men's cross country team recorded a fifth-place finish at the NCAA West Region Championships Saturday.

The Leopards placed three runners in the top-20 of a highly competitive field, led by sophomore Bryan Hayes. Hayes completed the 8,000-meter course in 25 minutes, 27.13 seconds and crossed the line in 10th. Senior Cristobal Gutierrez was close behind, taking 12th place in a personal-best time of 25:44.82. Freshman Tanner Long also recorded a personal best, crossing the line in 26:01.01 to finish 20th. All three were named all-West Region performers by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) by virtue of a top-35 finish.

Junior Jahi Gains was in next for the Leos in 51st (26:47.43) with senior Alberto Acosta taking 61st (27:03.22). Juniors Jayden Earlywine and Ted Breslow rounded out the Leopard squad in 70th (27:16.38) and 80th (27:28.87) respectively. 

Host Pomona-Pitzer defended its home course, winning the meet with 71 points over cross-campus rival Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (78 points). Williamette University (Ore.) took third with 109 points and Occidental College was fourth (132 points) in the 18-team field, just 17 points in front of La Verne's 149 points. Oxy's John Guzman was the individual champion in the field of 126 runners with a time of 24:40.27.

This La Verne squad paid little attention to the regional rankings, which placed them at 10th heading into the meet after several weeks of being unranked. Although the Leopards weren't able to replicate their third-place finish that propelled the team to the national meet in 2012, fifth is second-high team finish in program history. 

The top-two team finishers earned automatic berths to the NCAA national championships next Saturday in Hanover, Ind. The NCAA selection committee will announce the 16 at-large bids Sunday afternoon. In addition, the top seven individuals that are not on a qualifying team will make the trip to Hanover. Hayes has secured a spot with his 10th-place finish, but Gutierrez will be waiting for the committee's decision. If two at-large teams are selected from the region, he will slide into an individual berth.