SAN BRUNO, Calif. — Six members of the Santa Clara University men's cross country program earned West Coast Conference All-Academic Honorable Mention recognition Thursday, as announced by the conference office.
Kyle Berg,
Inbaa Chennai,
James Ponzio,
Jack Tolbert,
Nico Trepanier and
Daniel Vaca each collected the honorable mention awards. The six accolades extended the Broncos' streak of having at least six WCC all-academic honorees to five years in a row (since 2020-21).
Berg secured the honor as an environmental studies major with a 3.527 GPA. Berg was a consistent presence in Santa Clara's scoring group, finishing among the Broncos' top-seven in all four races he completed. He led the team to a fifth-place finish at the Kim Duyst Twilight on Sept. 13, clocking a season-best 24:08.6 as Santa Clara's top finisher. Berg went on to place 38th at the WCC Championship in 25:03.4 as the team's No. 4 runner, and also ranked in the Broncos' top-seven at both the Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational and the NCAA Regional. He is a three-time WCC Commissioner's Honor Roll recipient (two Silver honors, one Bronze).
Chennai, a mechanical engineering major carrying a 3.410 GPA, competed in three meets across the season and opened the year as Santa Clara's top finisher at the USF Invitational on Aug. 29, placing 10th overall in 25:03.6 to help the Broncos secure fourth place as a team. He added appearances at the Kim Duyst Twilight and the Bronco Invitational.
Ponzio was recognized while majoring in bioengineering with a 3.356 GPA. Ponzio competed in four meets and twice placed among Santa Clara's top-seven. He contributed to the team title at the Pacific Invitational on Oct. 3, finishing 15th overall as part of the Broncos' scoring five. Ponzio also clocked a season-best 25:26.1 at the Bronco Invitational and opened the season as SCU's No. 6 runner at the USF Invitational.
Tolbert, a finance major with a 3.415 GPA, earned his spot after racing in three of Santa Clara's six competition weekends. Tolbert finished among the Broncos' top-three twice, including a strong performance at the NCAA West Region Championship on Nov. 14, where he was the team's No. 2 runner and placed 103rd in 31:28.3 over 10 kilometers. He also served as SCU's No. 3 runner at the Pre-Nationals Invitational and posted a season-best 25:19.1 for 48th at the WCC Championship.
Junior
Nico Trepanier, an accounting and information systems major with a 3.359 GPA, picked up the honor after competing in four meets. Trepanier ran a season-best 26:00.5 at the Bronco Invitational and contributed to Santa Clara's team title at the Pacific Invitational, placing 27th in 26:37.3. He also raced at the USF Invitational and the Kim Duyst Twilight earlier in the fall.
Senior
Daniel Vaca, a political science major with a 3.713 GPA, rounded out Santa Clara's honorees. Vaca raced in all but one competition weekend and finished in the Broncos' top-seven in all five meets he ran. He was the team's No. 3 finisher at the Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational, and later recorded an 8-kilometer personal best of 25:11.9 as SCU's No. 6 runner at the WCC Championship. Vaca also served as the Broncos' No. 6 runner at both the NCAA West Region Championship and the Kim Duyst Twilight.
To earn WCC All-Academic recognition in cross country, student-athletes need at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA from the most recent spring term, must be a key contributor in competition, and have reached at least sophomore standing with a full year already spent at their school (freshmen and transfers aren't eligible). They also have to race in at least half of the team's meets, and from that pool the WCC recognizes 10 men's cross country runners with all-academic first team honors.
