Since November 2001, Fourteen Division II NCAA cross country championship races have been run, and the Chico State Wildcats have placed among the top-10 in 13 of these events. Running in perfect temps last Saturday in Pensacola, Florida the Wildcats placed two more squads among the nations top-10, adding to the distance tradition that is Chico State Cross Country. For the first time in championship history the NCAA hosted all Fall NCAA DII championship events on the same weekend in Pensacola, Florida naming the event the “2006 National Championships Festival.” Over 700 athletes were housed in resort hotels on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, all within walking distance of one another. The NCAA had events scheduled each day for participating athletes and coaches including Olympic style opening and closing ceremonies. Besides the crazy weather of Wednesday that included tornado warnings (one actually touched down 45 min from Pensacola), flooding, and lightening, the week in Pensacola was truly a great experience for those fortunate enough to have qualified. Since most of you are more interested in the running aspect I’ll dive into the race summaries. We’ll start with the men’s race since it was run first. Men’s 10k: After collectively employing a poorly managed race in 2005 where the ‘Cats top four each attacked the initial mile with too much intensity the plan this year was to run more conservatively early, and then attack the middle and closing kilometers. This plan was carried out to perfection by Scott Bauhs, Charlie Serrano, Antonio Miramontes, and Tim Tollefson (the ‘Cats usual #7). Unfortunately the remaining three ‘Cats spotted the field too much time in the early miles and they weren’t able to make up the ground needed to gather the top places the ‘Cats would need to challenge for a title. The silver lining in this race would be the individual placements of Bauhs and Serrano, and another team trophy that comes with a top-4 NCAA finish. The layout of the Escambia County Equestrian Center course was one of perfect footing and flat to rolling terrain. This would be a very quick course and splits would definitely be smoking fast. Two time defending champ Nicodemus Naimadu of the African dominated Abilene Christian team quickly made his way to the front of the pack and settled in among the leaders hitting the mile in 4:42. Bauhs and Serrano sat among the top 30 overall, each waiting until the real racing began. At least 70 runners passed before Wildcat’s #3 Antonio Miramontes rolled through the mile, followed closely by Tim Tollefson. Beau Bettinger who’d been rested at regionals due to an Achilles problem was off to a very slow start, running near 150th overall with Rory Kuykendall and Kyle Ivie just behind near 160th position. One thing was for sure, the ‘Cats had a lot of work to do over these next five miles if they wished to even finish among the top-5 teams. In the second and third miles the field stretched from the front as Naimadu increased the tempo. Bauhs now ran among a lead pack of five to six that included some serious names: Naimadu (13:35-5k, 8:29 steeple Pr’s), Julius Koskgei (NCAA ’06 10k champ), Kim Hogarth (31 year old New Zealander N.C region Champ, 8:40 steeple PR), Ryan Blood (East region champ, 14:18 5k pr), and Jesus Solis (Adams 28:58 10k guy). Serrano, still biding his time, covered moves that needed to be covered to hopefully finish among the top 10. Miramontes had started his move into the upper third of the field and Tim Tollefson appeared to be in control as he moved deeper into the top half of the field as well. Ivie and Kuykendall had started their move forward, but still ran among the back ½ of the field at two miles. Unable to move as well as I’d like due to a lingering injury, yours truly sat waiting at the four mile mark, hoping to see some good progress from the ‘Cats since seeing them last just short of two miles. As spectators sprinted toward my position one mentioned that Naimadu was of course leading, but nothing else was mentioned about others that might be with him. Expecting to see the amazingly talented Naimadu prancing alone from the front as he did in 2005, I was Very excited to see the familiar stride of Scott Bauhs matching that of Naimadu, with Kosgei just off their shoulders as they approached the four mile marker. The three had separated from Hogarth who now ran alone in fourth approx 30 meters back. As the three hit the small hill before the four mile, Bauhs took a small lead that seemed to shake Kosgei. Bauhs 4 mile split of 18:45 gives one an idea of the paces these guys were running at the front. Hogarth would hit four miles next, then Adams’ #1 Michael Yorek, then a large group of 7-8 that contained Chico #2 Serrano who now ran in 12th position overall. As the field passed the four mile they completed a ½ mile loop in the woods, before passing back by the same 4 mile area, allowing fans here to see them again 2-3 minutes later. Coming out of the ½ mile loop and now with less than 2 miles remaining in the race Bauhs and Nicademus ran side by side 30 meters ahead of Kosgei. Also coming out of the wooded loop in great shape was Serrano who’d moved to the front of his pack and now ran in the top 10 overall. Also having made up a lot of places in the middle miles was Antonio Miramontes who now ran inside the top 40 overall. Having never earned All American before today and being a senior, Miramontes needed to finish among the top 30 to secure this honor. Kyle Ivie caught Tollefson at approximately 4.5 miles but each still ran around 70-80th overall. Just before five miles, Bauhs developed a stomach cramp that forced the junior to drop from Naimadu’s pace, and Kosgei almost immediately caught and passed Bauhs. Holding on as well as he could Bauhs tried to shake off the cramp while also dealing with the impending thought of Ryan Blood and Kim Hogarth who now closed the gap with every stride. Having finished 6th in the West Region race it might have been easy for most to accept a 6th or 7th place finish at NCAA’s, but Bauhs would have none of this. The gritty racer shook off the stitch with just under ½ mile remaining after being passed by Blood. Re-charged and full of energy, Bauhs flew past Blood with 250m remaining, climbed up the final rise, and sprinted to the finish, crossing the line only 7 seconds behind Naimadu and 5 ticks behind Kosgei. Making an amazing late-race surge of his own was Charlie Serrano who picked a great day to run the race of his life as well. Serrano had passed 4-5 runners over the final mile to finish 6th overall, and only 10 seconds behind his training partner. As Bauhs crossed the line, he took two steps forward, turned to look for Serrano, and a smile immediately came to his face. As Serrano crossed the line he landed in the waiting arms of Bauhs who became the first to congratulate Charlie on his amazing effort. One by one big names of DII XC running crossed the line, including the scoring five of both Abilene Christian and Adams State. Miramontes would lose a sprint finish with Abilene’s #5 Philip Birgen (A sub 30 min 10k track peformer) BUT would claim the final All American spot with his 30th place finish! Forty seconds would expire before the ‘Cats #4 Ivie hit the tape with his toughest outing of the year (58th overall). Usual #7 Tim Tollefson would hold the key today for the ‘Cats, as the Junior ran a solid, well executed effort while placing 74th overall. This was Tollefson’s first time at the NCAA’s and his effort was a huge part of the ‘Cats fourth consecutive top-four finish. Rory Kuykendall and Beau Bettinger finished the ‘Cats day with 103rd and 115th place efforts. It took some time, but eventually the word was passed that the ‘Cats had scored 137 points and had finished fourth behind Abilene, Adams, and Western State. Over the past four years these four schools have accounted for 13 of the 16 trophies awarded for top-4 team finishes. Bauhs and Serrano became Chico’s top performers at the NCAA meet with their third and sixth place finishes. This was the ‘Cats fifth straight top-five finish, and eighth consecutive top-10 effort. Women’s 6,000m Championship: While the men’s team this year was full of proven NCAA talent, the women’s squad was a completely different scenario. Only four of the Wildcat women who would don the uniform in Pensacola had run at the NCAA meet before, and only one of the four had finished better than 95th overall in previous years. This was as far as the underdog story would go though as the ’06 women’s cross country team has spent the season breaking new ground and establishing themselves as a serious cross country team. Coming off a CCAA title and a narrow 10 point regional defeat, this group of young ladies toed the line in Pensacola with something to prove and the fire to propel them through 6k of tough racing. The most proven of the Wildcat seven at the NCAA level was Sarah Montez who’d finished 53rd overall two years ago as a sophomore. Sarah red shirted the ’05 campaign and returned this year ready to take a big step forward on the national stage. Montez may have been a bit overzealous in her approach today though as the Junior ran among the top 5 overall through the opening mile. Running 20-30 meters back at the mile was the lone senior on the Wildcat squad Mary Torres. Torres chased the large lead pack that was 20-25 strong for the opening 3k. Looking comfortable and confident through the mile were Julie Shaw and Lindsay Nelson who ran outside the top 100, but appeared ready to roll over the coming miles. Not far behind was Allison Ivie who also looked quite sharp over the opening kilometers. Aisha Kamala and Dinora Moran followed 20-30 places behind Ivie, each fighting hard to move through the field. By 3k it was apparent that Montez’ fast start was setting in, as she began to lose places. Sarah fought hard but one by one, competitors made their way by, including teammate Mary Torres who looked strong, but not extremely sharp on this day. Looking very solid still was Lindsay Nelson who now ran among the top 70. Not far back still was the controlled and consistent Julie Shaw, and just off her pace was Allison Ivie. These five appeared to be having just the sort of day they’d hoped coming into these championships. For the sixth time this season Torres would be the first ‘Cat to cross the finish, claiming 30th overall and earning her first All American honor in the process. Torres’ previous best finish at these championships was a 105th place effort in 2004. Sarah Montez held on tight to the finish but missed All American by less than 10 seconds with her 45th place effort. Lindsay Nelson finished strong with a nice 59th place effort and Julie Shaw followed only 13 second back at 70th overall. Twenty seconds later the Wildcat’s scoring had ended with the top 90 finish of frosh Allison Ivie. Aisha Kamala who’d been a scorer in each race previous, had her first “rough” outing of the season, but gained valuable experience during her 133rd place effort. The same could be said for Junior Dinora Moran who finished 20 seconds behind Kamala in 151st place. A year ago the Wildcat women graduated 5 of the 7 women that earned a fourth place NCAA finish. Today with a very young and inexperienced group, the Wildcats enjoyed a 228 point-9th place effort. The 228 point total is less than the 2003 squad scored in placing 5th at these championships and only 9 more than the ’04 squad that finished 6th! This was definitely a great run for this group of over-achieving distance runners. The Wildcat women have now finished among the top 10 nationally five straight years and in six of the past seven seasons. THANK YOU!!! A Big Thank you has to go out to the alumni, Parents, and 2 vans full of supporters who made the trip out to Pensacola to cheer on the Cats to another fine outing at the NCAA championships. This year we were one of the schools that had to travel the farthest to compete, but our fans were without question the most supportive and vocal of the whole field. Thanks so much for your support once again and we can’t wait till Joplin, MO in November 2007!