2016 Bronco Open Results
Men's 8k | Women's 6k

SUNNYVALE, Calif. – In ART U Cross Country's final tune-up before the Pacific West Conference Championships, a total of five Urban Knights were in action at the Bronco Open at Baylands Park on Saturday morning. Sophomore Ashley Brown highlighted several career or season best marks with the fastest 6k as a collegiate runner.

One of four women representing Academy of Art, Brown made it two consecutive years with the best race of her career on Broncos' 6k course. She finished 26th against a field of 186 other competitors, posting a time of 23:11. It was also her highest finish to date for a 6k.

"Ashley went out aggressively with the front runners and held on for the rest of the race to run an impressive 46-second personal record," said assistant coach/operations coordinator Jennifer Tavé. "She has shown a competitive spirit and strength in workouts so she should be a strong contender in the track season and in future cross country seasons."

Also in action Saturday, redshirt junior Madeline Dignadice ran her fastest race of the season, going 23:52.5 for 51st overall. She was followed by redshirt junior Beatriz Martinez Mercado in 63rd with a career-best time of 24:17.1. Redshirt freshman Latavia Hawkins added a 25:41.2 mark for 108th overall.

Graduate student Kristian Martinez was the lone male competitor for ART U in Saturday's 8k open race. He would turn in a season-best 27:17.1 in 76th overall out of 208 runners.

Academy of Art will now turn its full attention to the 2016 PacWest Conference Championships which take place the morning of Oct. 22 at Kamehameha School in Keeau, Hawaii.