TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — The Santa Clara University men's cross country team faced off against 10 nationally ranked teams and a bevy of the nation's best programs Saturday, as the Broncos competed at Indiana State's John McNichols Invitational, which served as a preview for the course where the national championship will be held in November.
 
Santa Clara placed 24th (750 points) in the highly competitive field that included two top-10 teams and seven in the top-20. Former West Coast Conference member and ninth-ranked BYU won the team title with 71 points. Unanimous preseason West Coast Conference favorite Portland finished 18th with 390 points. The Broncos were the only other WCC program in the race alongside the Pilots.
 
Sophomore Will Carroll was Santa Clara's top finisher Saturday, placing 123rd with a time of 25 minutes, 11.9 seconds, over the 8-kilometer course. Jack Tolbert was SCU's No. 2, finishing 157th in 25:38.7. Zafer Courcelle rounded out the Broncos' top-three in 162nd place with a time of 25:43.1. Jacob McManus gave the Broncos two underclassmen in their top-four, coming in 182nd in 26:07.6. McCoy Brooks capped the Broncos' top-five in 189th, finishing in 26:12.3.
 
Kaden Helder grabbed 202nd place with a time of 26:33.1 and Liam Papavasiliou finished 210th in 26:43.7 to form the Broncos' top-seven. Eric Ortega-Gammill also competed for Santa Clara, earning a 213th-place finish in 26:50.4.
 
The Santa Clara men will now take a month off, next competing at their own Bronco Invitational in Sunnyvale, Calif., on Oct. 17.