POMONA, Calif. -- Vanguard men's cross country was again led by Jesse O'Campo Saturday morning as the Blue and Gold competed at the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational.  The Lions placed 12th out of the 20 teams that ran and Cal Poly Pomona took the team title, while The Master's had the individual winner, with both programs splitting the top-four spots.
 
What Happened?  O'Campo crossed the line just shy of 26 minutes after the gun started the race (25:59.5) and was the second Pacific West Conference runner after APU's Aaron Lakeman in 22nd.  O'Campo has been steady in his three races and has not had a race time of over 26 minutes.  Ommar Arroyo was next for VU at 26:36.8 in 53rd, just four seconds off his season-best from the TMU Challenge.
 
Cooper Anderson stepped over the line as the 100th runner in a time of 27:39.4, and Caleb Dickerson had a 28:15.2 race in 123rd.  Rylan Starnes placed 146th in a time of 28:43.7, setting a personal best, and Josiah Kirby rounded out the lineup in 187th with a finish of 30:05.8.
 
What was Said?  "Our men raced with grit, joy, and determination today," said Head Coach Bryan Wilkins.  "I'm very proud of the men and they are making progress with each race."
 
What's Next?  The XC squads will take on another strong field at the UCR Highlander event the morning of October 18.