Dear Wildcat Cross Country Supporters, In the fall of 2000, fourteen Wildcat distance runners achieved something that no other group had done yet in school history, both men’s and women’s cross country squads had qualified together for the NCAA championships. Each season since this great day in Pomona, CA both Wildcat cross country squads have ended their year together at the NCAA meet. On Saturday in front of hundreds of cheering fans at the newly constructed Oroville Forbay course, the ‘Cats increased this streak to 7 years, as each squad punched their tickets to the upcoming NCAA meet to be held in Pensacola, Florida. The men dominated the regional competition winning their fifth straight title by a lop-sided 84 point margin. The women finished at the bottom end of a 4 team battle for the title, but nabbed the final spot to NCAA’s while finishing a mere 10 points behind winner Cal State LA. We’ll start with the men’s race since it was the first run of the day. Men’s 10k: The Chico Men’s team entered Saturday’s race as heavy favorites for the title having won the past four regional races and having enjoyed an amazing 2006 season to date. Number 8 runner Michael Wickman a red shirt frosh would suit up today while Beau Bettinger (7th in 2005 regional) would take the week off racing for precautionary reasons. With the crack of starter Jamie Starmer’s gun, the first-ever regional championship event to be held in the Chico area was off an running. The seven Wildcat men, each with his own plan of attack, settled in for what would be a very difficult series of loops around the forebay aquatic area. Each of the 100+ runners would cover four 1.5 mile skeleton loop four times. Each loop contained a rigorous 600m stretch of trail that climbed to the high point of the course, before runners would descend back to water level and around the start area and the water-front. With two miles of hills within the 10k layout, energy management was of the essence on this day, and patience would be as much of a key to success as fitness. Unfortunately a lack of patience would cost the ‘Cats and a few others, the chance to take the individual title. The pace was fast and furious from the gun as Stanislaus’ Bobby Olivera towed Chico’s Scotty Bauhs (who wore training shoes today), Charlie Serrano, and Alaska’s David Kiplagat up the initial climb. As runners made their way down the snaking trail back towards the awaiting throng of Chico fans at the bottom, Bauhs seized the lead pulling along Serrano and Kiplagat. The three had separated themselves from several smaller chase packs and it appeared that the winner would come from this group of three. With one loop down and three to go, there was plenty of racing to be done and the Chico fans cheered wildly as the ‘Cats set out for lap two with Bauhs leading the charge. As the leaders hit the hill for the second time, ‘Cats #3 runner Antonio Miramontes began a hard push toward the lead group of three. The gritty hill specialist also had some company as Hawaii Pacific’s Todd Iacovelli had latched onto Miramontes’ heels, attempting to match his powerful move toward the leaders. At the crest of the second climb Miramontes had reached the heels of teammates Bauhs and Serrano and now the lead pack was five strong and it appeared to be anyone’s race. As the pack blazed down the hill toward the three mile marker Serrano broke from the pack and Kiplagat attempted to cover the move. Serrano’s surge gave him some distance on the field and the senior from Simi Valley, CA hit the three mile split in a very quick 15 minutes even. With less than five kilometers to go it appeared that Serrano’s move may have broken the field and he might improve on his 2nd place 2005 regional finish. As mentioned earlier though, patience would prove valuable today as Miramontes broke from the chase group on the third climb and caught and passed Serrano as the two crested the hill for the penultimate time. Miramontes appeared full of steam as he charged over the top and toward the start/finish area 600m below. With a lap to go Miramontes looked unbeatable having crafted a 50m lead on Serrano and Iacovelli. There was just one problem.. Iacovelli had saved his best running for the final lap and the 6’4 HI native started to eat into this lead with each stride. By the top of the final climb Iacovelli had caught Miramontes and quickly started to build a lead of his own. Having saved his move for the final circuit, Iacovelli’s long flowing stride made it impossible for Miramontes or anyone else in the field to chase him down as he descended toward an eventual regional victory. Serrano who’d caught a “second wind” closed well and passed teammate Miramontes in the final straight. Scott Bauhs held on well finishing 6th overall and the always tactically savvy Kyle Ivie followed closely in 8th place. Rory Kuykendall earned his second All Region honor with his 13th place finish and ended the ‘Cats scoring before any other team’s #3 had crossed the line. Junior Tim Tollefson enjoyed another solid outing placing 20th overall in his first regional race and RS frosh Michael Wickman followed closely finishing 25th, well ahead of every other team’s #4. All in all this was another great step for the Wildcat men as they prepare for the upcoming NCAA championship meet. In two weeks expect Bauhs to run in flats and with a goal of finishing with a lower place than he did in the regional, and we can expect to see Bettinger in uniform and ready to help the ‘Cats to another solid placing on the NCAA stage. Women’s 6k championship. In my regional preview I described how any of five teams could possibly win the West Region title on a given day, and this would indeed be the case. With only 10 points separating the top 4 teams, the title really could have gone any number of ways on a given day. With 5 teams ranked among the top 20 nationally competing for only four spots to the NCAA’s, the level of intensity was very high in this race. As the gun sounded, top runners from each of the contending teams bolted toward the front of the pack. Leading the charge from the front was Chico’s Mary Torres who was fresh off her CCAA championship run two weeks previous. At the 400m mark Torres ran side by side with undefeated Jessica Pixler of Seattle Pacific University. The two spent the majority of the first 2 miles trading surges, neither breaking the other, but pulling away slowly from the rest of the field. Running among the chase pack behind Torres and Pixler were no less than three Cal State LA runners who were trailed closely by Chico #2 Sarah Montez. At mid-race all five teams who were in the hunt for the top four spots had runners among the top 15 overall and it appeared that CSLA might have an edge on the field with three running in the top 8. At the CCAA’s CSLA had run a similar strategy, but fell apart just enough over the final kilometer for the ‘Cats to claim the victory. At the front Pixler and Torres hit the hill together for the final time and Pixler appeared the more fresh of the two. Torres fought hard to maintain contact but the super-frosh from Seattle started to form a small gap on the top ‘Cat. Montez hit the hill in 8th place, but didn’t appear to be having a great race, and still trailed the three key runners from CSLA. Lindsay Nelson had passed at least 15 runners over the middle kilometers and now ran among the top 15-18 overall, looking quite strong. Also looking very well as she hit the hill for the final time was Aisha Kamala. Aisha who’d had a mid season slump of sorts, has been swinging back and looking strong in workouts, and today it showed as she ran among the top 25 looking quite strong. The bad news for the ‘Cats came in the form of a Julie Shaw calf cramp that forced the Sophomore who’d placed 14th overall in this race a year ago, to fall off her early pace and she now ran around the 35th position. Not far behind was Megan Williams who was enjoying perhaps her best outing of the season in front of the home fans. Another setback for the ‘Cats was Allison Ivie’s side-stitch that had her close to tears as she approached the final climb. Her coach pleaded for her to keep working and to give it a chance to go away. Thankfully the cramp would eventually subside and Ivie re-passed a portion of those who had gone by her earlier in the race. As the leaders shot down the long trail toward the eventual finish stretch it became apparent that Pixler had indeed broken away from Torres and barring a fall or unexpected setback, would keep her unbeaten streak alive. Torres ran strong in the second position and would become the second Regional runner-up in as many years for the ‘Cats (Katie Lee finished 2nd in the ’05 regional). Montez held her position well but each of the three CSLA women held their spots among the top 7, giving them a large advantage in the race for the team title. A year ago Lindsay Nelson finished just out of the All Region (top 15) zone, but today the Junior would cross the line a solid 13th overall earning her first such distinction. Aisha Kamala lost a few places over the finish stretch, but held on tight for her best race of the year placing 24th overall. Crossing the line just in front of her were Seattle Pacific’s #2-#5 runners which made the Falcons the first team to end their scoring. CSLA’s final scorers (4/5) would take the next two spots behind Kamala. Despite having battled cramps much of the race Julie Shaw held on tight to finish 30th overall. Megan Williams and Allison Ivie each finished inside the top 50 overall making the ‘Cats the second team to have all seven across the line. Fans were scattered about the finish field area after the race debating which teams might have won, or whether the ‘Cats had even qualified for NCAA’s. With such mixed results and parity among the top squads, everyone waited impatiently for word from Kevin Selby the meet announcer for any kind of results. Finally after what seemed like a very long time, the announcement came.. “We had a very close race among the top 4 teams” Selby announced “with the top four finishing within 10 points of one another.” “Finishing fourth and claiming one of the NCAA qualifying spots… Chico State “ Fans cheered for the ‘Cats and what was an amazing race to watch. For the Wildcats who have grown accustomed to winning regional titles (each of the last three) it was a tough pill to swallow, but the collective thought was one of relief that they had qualified and would another chance to show what they were capable of on a better day. All toll between both races 8 of the 14 competing Wildcat runners had earned All West Region honors and were recognized for such at the awards ceremony following the races. The squads now gear up for another shot at the NCAA championships where each has finished among the top 6 overall in the previous 4 editions. Stay Tuned! Before including the women’s results below I want to take this opportunity to recognize and thank all of those who made this weekend’s event such a success. There were so many supporters at the Forebay on Saturday that I can’t even describe how proud I was to be a part of such an event. Alumni had traveled from LA, Portland, and all across the state to be a part of this great day. So to everyone who made the effort to come out and help the cause that is Chico Cross Country, THANK YOU so much and we’ll look forward to making you proud with our NCAA races in two weeks! Coach Gary Towne