Dear Chico State Harrier Fans, It’s not done very often but on Saturday October 1, 2005 the Chico State men’s team recorded a perfect 15 point score at the 30 team Willamette Invit in Salem, OR. The women’s squad almost made it a clean sweep with a 19 point effort placing 5 ‘Cats in the top 8 overall. Although the NCAA championships are still 7 weeks away, the Wildcats showed that they are making good progress towards achieving some high goals on the national stage in November. Before diving into the action of the men’s race I feel it’s necessary to paint a picture of the day’s schedule and the what the Wildcats were up against as they toed the line in this year’s competition. The Willamette Invit has been a part of the ‘Cats schedule since 2002 and each year the fields have grown in size and caliber as the rest of the West coast and nation realize what a great meet Willamette has become. Unfortunately meet officials have recently separated the fields into three races per gender due to the growing number of teams who wish to participate in the meet. The first two races of the day were the DI men’s and women’s races, followed by the DII, III, NAIA races, and then the Club, JC, unnat races to finish the day. All toll, there were 6 races on the day. The weather for this year’s event was VERY wet as nearly 2 inches of rain had fallen in the 24 hour period leading up to the races on Saturday morning. Another well timed cloud-burst greeted the men’s participants in the DII, III, NAIA event which made a muddy slowish course, that much slower. One of the nice things about the Willamette set-up is that the course has and will remain the same year after year, so kids can compare times to monitor their progression though the years. This year due to course conditions I’d estimate that times were 15-20 seconds slower than usual due to course conditions, that became worse w/ each race run. Men’s 8k Collegiate race (DII, DIII, NAIA): The men’s team wasn’t extremely happy with being placed in this race while being left out of the faster DI field, so a plan to work as a unit together was formed in the days leading up to the race. The plan was to run with at least 5 runners together for the initial 3 miles of the competition, and then compete from there. This plan worked much better than the coaches had envisioned as the Wildcat men moved up through the initial mile and controlled the lead pack by the mile mark. No less than 6 Wildcats were in the 10 person lead pack by the two mile mark. The guys talked to one another, looking relaxed and ready to notch things down in the final 3200m. This is exactly what they did as by the 5k mark they had finally shed their final pursuer Humberto Rojas (Two time CA JC State XC champ). By four miles the group of 6 ran together having built a 40+ meter cushion over Rojas and the chase group. Junior Charlie Serrano a graduate of the DI defending state champ Royal HS team made a move from the front that separated the ‘Cat pack somewhat. Serrano, having never won a college XC race seized the opportunity, running the final mile well under 4:50 to gather his first college win. With the 270+ runners converging on the track stadium finish, it was quite a site to see 6 Wildcats enter the stadium first. Scott Bauhs and Kyle Ivie finished the Wildcat sweep, savoring the moment, as the two ran workout pace around the track. The race up front was certainly impressive, but the race Pr’s turned in by some of the other ‘Cats was even more impressive from the coaches’ perspective. RS Soph Tim Tollefson who walked onto the Wildcat team two years ago ran a huge 25:12 pr on a slow course. Rory Kuykendall, who enjoys running from behind after conservative starts, ran a 15:00 for the final 3 miles while also notching an impressive PR (25:28). All in all, this was a great performance for the men’s team. A few items to note: IN the team scoring the ‘Cats 15 points outdistanced several nationally ranked teams including: Willamette U (#7 in DIII rankings), St John’s U-MN (#22-DIII), and Southern Oregon St. (#9 ranked in NAIA). Women’s Collegiate 5k (DII, DIII, NAIA) Having just witnessed the men’s 15 pt effort, the women took the line ready to post a solid win of their own. Having won this meet each of the past two years the ladies raced with the confidence and poise of a champion. The approach from the front was similar to that of the men’s race. Top three ‘Cats Jennifer James, Katie Lee, and Missy Lendl were instructed to work together for the first 2/3 of the race before notching things down to the finish. Ciara Harvey who started the race with a head cold was given some flexibility with her race-plan as was So Lindsay Nelson (who likes to start slower), and frosh Julie Shaw (who’s also a strong finisher). Thankfully this plan worked to perfection (or close to it ;) By the mile mark James, Lee, and Lendl had found one another and worked their way past the few runners who had gotten off to quicker starts. Following close behind just inside the top 10 overall was Harvey who looked as strong as ever. Running as the #5 for the ‘Cats through the mile was 800m convert Dallase Scott who started the season with an injury but is just now rounding into shape. Running just inside the top 30 overall at the mile was Julie Shaw and Lyndsay Nelson, each looking very strong and ready for the final 2.1 miles of the race. As is usually the case in the 5k events, a lot happens in the middle mile and thankfully for the ‘Cats the things that happened out there were definitely good! By the two mile mark Lee, Lendl and James had separated from the field and Harvey had moved into 4th overall, but with the company of British Columbia (#2 team ranked in NAIA). Having moved up amazingly in the outer loop was Nelson, who now ran in the top 12 overall and was still moving up. Scott who had started a bit aggressively given her missed training, was holding on at around 20th, and frosh Julie Shaw (another great Redding-area product) now ran among the top 25 overall. The women hit the track surface with 300m remaining and today would be Jennifer James’ day as the senior from Redding, CA picked up the pace with each stride during the final mile, breaking the tape in a solid 17:49 clocking. Not known for her kick, but working on improving this area of her racing, Missy Lendl covered the final 300m in a good clip to pick up her second Willamette invit runner-up finish (she was second overall behind Lee two years ago). Next in was Katie Lee who would sew up a Chico 1-3 and sub 18min club finish. The battle for fourth overall was one of the few races the wildcats would lose on this day as Ciara Harvey fought BC’s Shannon Elmer (Top 10 overall @ Stanford 4k a week earlier) to the line, but had to settle for a fifth place finish. She may not like the track surface as much as the XC trails, but Lyndsay Nelson looked very sharp as she wrapped up the ‘Cats scoring 5 with her 8th place finish. The Chico native had run a solid 18:18 PR, on a slower than usual course! Julie Shaw finished her tactical effort with an impressive 18:35 effort just cracking the top 20 overall. Dallase “pain threshold” Scott held on well in the final mile, but the quick early pace had certainly taken the sting out of her 2:12-800m speed by the time she hit the track surface. Still the Senior managed a nice PR and will certainly progress in the coming weeks as she piles on more consistent weeks of training. Men’s Open, Club, JC 8k: With meet officials only allowing 12 athletes per team to be entered in any one race, the Wildcats sent an additional group to the line in the open race. RS Frosh Jeff Wilson led the charge for the ‘Cats in this race with his 26:00 effort. Not far behind was Red-shirting frosh Eduardo Serna who stopped the clock at 26:03 (a nice PR!). Running his first race in a Wildcat uniform was Angel Marquez who has dealt with an assortment of injuries in the weeks since the summer months. Marquez finished 51st with a solid 26:13 time. Alex Duenas would close out the ‘Cat’s performances in the open field with his 64th place finish (Alex’s progress has been dealt a blow with a tough case of shin splints). Event 5 Men 8k Run CC Open ======================================================================= Name Year School Finals Points ======================================================================= 1 Kezes, Paul Team XO 23:26.40 1 2 Braden, Forest Unattached 23:37.15 3 McLean, Dan Rrs - Mizuno 24:22.00 4 Laurie, Steve Team Eugene 24:28.30 5 Stout, Jake Greater Boise Ru 24:38.10 6 Thomas, Jon Unattached 24:42.30 7 Morgan, David Lane Community C 24:54.60 2 8 Riley, Tim Eastside Track Club 24:57.70 3 9 Griffiths, Eric Eastside Track Club 25:04.00 4 10 McCurry, Patrick Eastside Track Club 25:05.70 5 11 Gonzales, Danny Unattached 25:06.15 12 Hemlock, Clay Unattached 25:09.80 13 Brashers, Preston Unattached 25:11.95 14 Mangrum, Ben Team XO 25:12.60 6 15 Fuller, Andrew Spokane CC 25:12.90 7 16 Williams, Sean Eastside Track Club 25:13.15 8 17 Barnhart, Matt Lane Community C 25:14.45 9 18 Santos, Manuel Clark College 25:16.45 10 19 Bauman, Ahrlin Club Northwest 25:17.40 20 Peach, Jasper Humboldt State 25:18.65 21 Bromka, Alec Unattached 25:18.95 22 Johnson, Destry Team XO 25:22.65 11 23 Hollingshead, Aaron Unattached 25:26.50 24 Coolidge, Trevor Portland 25:29.50 12 25 Vandenberg, Steve Portland 25:32.10 13 26 Haugen, Michael Portland 25:32.30 14 27 Culver, Justin Unattached 25:39.35 28 Day, Shawn Team Eugene 25:39.75 29 Gorder, Andy Portland 25:45.35 15 30 Knackstedt, Scott Portland 25:47.20 16 31 Darda, Joe Unattached 25:47.25 32 Workman, Brandon Team XO 25:49.55 17 33 Wyatt, Tom Unattached 25:50.70 34 Juarez, Jose Spokane CC 25:51.45 18 35 Michael, Brandon UO Running Club 25:53.65 19 36 Ault, Steven Portland 25:54.75 20 37 Thompson, Lance Team XO 25:56.30 21 38 Drouet, Jeff Team XO 25:57.20 22 39 Peterson, Tom Unattached 25:59.55 40 Oliver, Stephen Unattached 25:59.65 41 Lehman, JT Portland 26:00.10 23 42 Roulston, David Unattached 26:00.30 43 Wilson, Jeffrey Chico State Univ 26:00.95 44 Poffenroth, Ben Lane Community C 26:01.70 24 45 Schlegel, Rob Portland 26:02.30 46 Serna, Eduardo Unattached 26:03.45 47 Laverty, Keith Unattached 26:05.10 48 Bellisario, Nick Portland 26:05.70 49 Burck, Eric Spokane CC 26:07.30 25 50 Welsh, Mark Unattached 26:09.45 51 Marquez, Angel Chico State Univ 26:13.25 52 Limon, Omar Unattached 26:16.30 53 Anderson, Mike Eastside Track Club 26:18.90 26 54 Binschus, Chris Unattached 26:20.40 55 Nasim, Niwar Unattached Clan 26:23.50 56 Casteel, A.J. Lane Community C 26:23.65 27 57 Mantalas, John Team XO 26:25.00 28 58 Garrison, Perry Treasure Valley 26:26.10 29 59 Cobb, Josh Clackamas CC 26:26.25 30 60 Gill, Jeff Portland 26:26.50 61 Deshazo, Matt Unattached 26:27.30 62 Moeller, Mark Spokane CC 26:28.40 31 63 Rath, Joseph Unattached 26:30.15 64 Duenas, Alex Chico State Univ 26:33.00 65 Finney, Grant Bruin TC 26:37.70 66 Reid, David UO Running Club 26:38.15 32 67 Gall, Ben Eastside Track Club 26:40.60 33 68 Fulton, Leland Lane Community C 26:43.30 34 69 Anderson, Kyle Spokane CC 26:44.00 35 70 Moorman, Anthony Spokane CC 26:46.15 36 71 Benson, Doug Clackamas CC 26:49.10 37 72 Khalif, Hassan Highline CC 26:50.05 38 73 Cherry, Chris Unattached 26:50.35 74 Siebert, Nick Unattached 26:50.85 75 Ullman, Kevin Team XO 26:51.20 164 Finishers Women’s Open 5k: With 6 women signed up to run in uniform for this 5k event, the ‘Cats looked to compete for a top team finish among the JC’s and club teams entered. In a great display of the team’s depth and competitiveness, this group of women would place 2nd overall out of the 11 teams entered. Running the quickest time of the day out of the ‘Cats group was frosh Allison Ivie, who wouldn’t factor into the scoring because of her unnat/red-shirting status. Ivie narrowly missed breaking 19min for the first time ever with her 19:00 finish time. Keep your eyes on this rising star as she will factor into the Wildcats team in a big way next fall! Leading the uniform charge was Dinora Moran the JC transfer from El Camino CC. Moran nearly tied her XC 5k PR with a nice 19:24 run. Following close behind was So. Lindsey Brown who continues to impress coaches, given that this is her first XC season Ever! Nancy Cavaletto and Kellie Stephens ran tough with 20:10, 20:15 clockings while teammates Katie Enfield and Ondi Foster rounded out the ‘Cats six with 20:46 and 20:50 runs. Slicing a nice minute-plus from her time the previous week, frosh Amy Cranford rolled to a 22:33 time. All in all, another good race for the distance ladies from Chico. Event 6 Women 5k Run CC Open ======================================================================= Name Year School Finals Points ======================================================================= 1 Vander Meulen, Tania Unattached 17:35.00 2 Wemple, Robin Unattached 17:49.05 3 Beechy, Tiffany UO Running Club 17:59.30 1 4 Jones, Kelsey Eastside Track Club 18:08.00 2 5 Williams, Evelyn Team Gfr Salem 18:49.85 3 6 Carpenter, Kristin British Columbia 18:54.15 7 Mullen, Lindy Unattached 18:54.60 8 Wegman, Karina Unattached 18:55.75 9 Hooks, Amy Eastside Track Club 18:58.20 4 10 Ivie, Allison Unattached 19:00.60 11 Barker-McCurry, Andrija Eastside Track Club 19:01.65 5 12 Collins, Emily Unattached 19:02.00 13 Compton, Jenifer Unattached 19:02.45 14 White, Kendel Unattached 19:07.25 15 Gilbert, Katie Lane Community C 19:18.75 6 16 Lutz, Tonya Team Gfr Salem 19:20.20 7 17 Ulrich, Lindsey Eastside Track Club 19:21.40 8 18 Turner, Kelly Spokane CC 19:22.80 9 19 Moran, Dinora Chico State Univ 19:24.40 10 20 Piazza, Sarah UO Running Club 19:29.45 11 21 Matsen, Laura Fit Right NW 19:30.70 22 Finney, Rian Eastern Oregon 19:34.10 23 Wright, Lindy Unattached 19:36.90 24 McKillip, Lyndsey Clackamas CC 19:38.75 25 Murray, Ellen Bellevue CC 19:41.70 12 26 Brown, Lindsey Chico State Univ 19:45.05 13 27 McCaslin, Amy Unattached 19:46.25 28 Howlan, Denise Team Gfr Salem 19:47.30 14 29 Johnson, Crystal Unattached 19:47.45 30 Ripple, Leah Tacoma CC 19:55.45 31 Barbour, Sheree Highline CC 20:00.30 15 32 Mahtala, Jaclyn Unattached 20:01.05 33 Miles, Alexandra Unattached 20:01.20 34 Shipman, Taylor Unattached Clan 20:04.25 35 Mercer, Breanna Clark College 20:05.25 16 36 Harper, Jessica Clackamas CC 20:05.30 37 Cavaletto, Nancy Chico State Univ 20:10.10 17 38 Stephens, Kellie Chico State Univ 20:15.60 18 39 Wilson, Mercedes Spokane CC 20:18.15 19 40 Compogno, Katie Spokane CC 20:20.10 20 41 Bradshaw, Carley UO Running Club 20:21.75 21 42 McNally, Audra Clark College 20:22.85 22 43 Lukashova, Luda Clackamas CC 20:23.90 44 Starodubtseva, Toma Lane Community C 20:28.30 23 45 Fine, Shalene Lane Community C 20:33.85 24 46 McCanick, Ann Unattached Clan 20:40.50 47 Barker, Jessyca Eastside Track Club 20:44.30 25 48 Baker, Leslie Spokane CC 20:45.55 26 49 Enfield, Katie Chico State Univ 20:46.80 27 50 Foster, Ondi Chico State Univ 20:50.40 28 51 Rutter, Taebrooke Spokane CC 20:50.85 29 52 Meyer, Sarah Unattached 20:51.15 53 zusman, kelly Prc 20:54.50 54 Gibson, Tiffany Lane Community C 20:55.65 30 55 Rutter, Chelsea Spokane CC 21:03.35 31 56 Ochse, Shelista Tacoma CC 21:07.00 57 Garner, Chelsea Spokane CC 21:08.25 32 58 Fayant, Tammy Spokane CC 21:09.90 59 Brainard, Susan Team Gfr Salem 21:16.10 33 60 Fielder, Charlonda Clark College 21:18.30 34 61 Wilson, Hannah UO Running Club 21:22.50 35 62 Robinson, Dena Bellevue CC 21:24.55 36 63 Brandjord, Annie UO Running Club 21:24.90 37 64 Better, Melissa Highline CC 21:25.30 38 65 Ward, Pamila Treasure Valley 21:31.85 39 66 Newman, Liz Clark College 21:36.00 40 67 Vesey, Robin Unattached 21:41.30 68 McKenny, Cassie Highline CC 21:46.75 41 69 Montez, Sarah Unattached 21:48.75 70 Ulrich, Sister Eastside Track Club 21:55.65 42 71 Schmidt, Sue Team Gfr Salem 22:00.15 43 72 Sims, Sherri Unattached 22:01.85 73 Kawasaki-Bauman, Annie Club Northwest 22:02.80 74 Moore, Emilee Lane Community C 22:03.30 44 75 Nelson, Andrea Lane Community C 22:04.50 45 76 Yarranton, Rachel Lewis & Clark Co 22:07.15 46 77 Kress, Nicole Treasure Valley 22:07.45 47 78 Farah, Lyndsey Highline CC 22:13.30 48 79 Crager, Julia Lewis & Clark Co 22:13.60 49 80 Querna, Paige Spokane CC 22:13.90 81 Patterson, Katie Treasure Valley 22:23.90 50 82 Glendill, Nikki Lane Community C 22:25.05 51 83 Baird, Hilary Spokane CC 22:30.15 84 Cranford, Amy Unattached 22:33.20 85 Stevens, Cori Lewis & Clark Co 22:33.40 52 86 Meeker, Rosie Highline CC 22:39.45 53 87 Pedersen, Ivy Lewis & Clark Co 22:40.80 54 88 Kiehl, Kate Lewis & Clark Co 23:05.10 55 89 Coe Smith, Sage Lewis & Clark Co 23:05.45 56 90 Underwood, Jenna SW Oregon 23:21.75 91 Glenn, Cindy Unattached 23:31.60 92 Pecora, Haley Unattached 23:40.20 93 Powell, Jenine Bellevue CC 23:40.25 57 94 Wright, Teresa Everett CC 23:43.60 95 Emmel, Jessica Treasure Valley 23:44.00 58 96 Green, Shante Treasure Valley 23:50.55 59 97 Yeh, Christine Bellevue CC 23:53.70 60 98 Wirtz, Rebekah Bellevue CC 23:54.70 61 99 Gilligan, Mallorie Clark College 24:00.40 62 100 Olsen, Chelsea Lewis & Clark Co 24:31.20 63 101 Quichocho, Dee Dee Tacoma CC 24:45.80 102 Pacha, Shannon Unattached 24:55.90 103 Bilte, Stacey Spokane CC 25:35.10 104 Pefley, Sarah Bellevue CC 25:56.15 64 105 White, Heather Everett CC 26:04.35 106 Buttrey, Lindsey Clark College 26:10.45 65 107 Waite, Ariel Treasure Valley 29:02.40 66 Team Scores ================================================================================= Rank Team Total 1 2 3 4 5 *6 *7 *8 *9 ================================================================================= 1 Eastside Track Club 44 2 4 5 8 25 42 Total Time: 1:36:13.55 Average: 19:14.71 2 Chico State University 85 10 13 17 18 27 28 Total Time: 1:40:21.95 Average: 20:04.39 3 Team Gfr Salem 100 3 7 14 33 43 Total Time: 1:41:13.60 Average: 20:14.72 4 Spokane Community College 103 9 19 20 26 29 31 32 Total Time: 1:41:37.46 Average: 20:19.49 5 UO Running Club 105 1 11 21 35 37 Total Time: 1:40:37.90 Average: 20:07.58 6 Lane Community College 127 6 23 24 30 44 45 51 Total Time: 1:43:19.85 Average: 20:39.97 7 Clark College 174 16 22 34 40 62 65 Total Time: 1:47:22.80 Average: 21:28.56 8 Highline Community Colleg 195 15 38 41 48 53 Total Time: 1:48:05.11 Average: 21:37.02 9 Bellevue Community Colleg 226 12 36 57 60 61 64 Total Time: 1:52:34.90 Average: 22:30.98 10 Treasure Valley Community 253 39 47 50 58 59 66 Total Time: 1:53:37.75 Average: 22:43.55 11 Lewis & Clark College 256 46 49 52 54 55 56 63 Total Time: 1:52:40.05 Average: 22:32.01 Next Up for the ‘Cats will be the Folsom Invit on Oct. 8th. Most of the top 10 team members will be rested for the upcoming CCAA Championships which will be held 2 weeks after in SF’s Golden Gate Park (Oct 22nd). After CCAA’s the ‘Cats will have two remaining events, the NCAA Regionals (Nov. 5th in Chino Hills, CA) and NCAA championships (Nov. 19-Also in Chino Hills). Mark your calendars now for the upcoming NCAA races as they have returned to CA, and we plan to have an amazing group of dedicated fans and supporters there, to cheer on the highly ranked Wildcat Squads. Speaking of rankings... As of last week, the women’s squad was ranked #3 nationally, while the men weighed in at #4. We don’t speak of rankings a whole lot for the obvious reason... that they don’t really mean anything. The only thing that matters is how we perform when we run on November 19th in Chino, so if you can come out and support the ‘Cats in their efforts to create their own rankings, please mark your calendars and join us in the fun. I’ll definitely be sending more info on this event in the coming weeks! Pictures: I’ve included several photos in this week’s edition. Two are from this weekend’s Willamette meet, and the other two were taken during a training session on the Centerville Hills, just outside the Chico City Limits. Enjoy! Thank you all for your support of our squad. Sincerely, Gary Towne