Wildcat men blitz the field, Chico State women a very close third Both teams easily qualify for Nationals

Sarah Montez is not going to give up easily as being passed by Seattle Pacific's Jane Larsen late in the race.

By Gary Towne, Chico State head coach Saturday, October 20, 2007 Boise, Idaho- Women’s “6k” (reportedly 200m short of an actual 6K): The Wildcat women entered the meet ranked third in the region and had another NCAA top-10 ranked team in UCSD chomping at their heels (7 points behind the ‘Cats @ CCAA’s a week before). With no less than 4 Top-10 ranked NCAA teams in the field this year, competition would be fierce both for individual spots for the All Region team (Top-15 overall) and for team bragging rights and hopeful NCAA berths. As the gun sounded coaches took a deep breath and hoped the teams weren’t as nervous as them. Upon first sight of the leaders I was very pleased with the initial placement of the Lady ‘Cats. Sarah Montez ran around 10th place overall, as part of a plan to work into a top position as the race progressed. Aisha Kamla, Lindsay Nelson, Kayla Silva, and Kara Lubieniecki all ran among 15-25th places as they circled the Eagle Lake layout for the first of two loops. Dinora Moran and Shannon McVannel were also placed well inside the top ¼ of the field. As the race progressed Montez started picking up steam and passed runners one by one. With less than a mile to go Sarah passed the Chico cheering contingent looking very strong and having moved into the second position overall, now ahead of CCAA champ Karla Alburez of CSLA. With two time

NCAA champion Jessica Pixler well ahead of the chase pack, Sarah wouldn’t challenge for the lead, but would have a great shot at joining Katie Lee as the ‘Cats only Regional runner-up ever. This wasn’t quite to be though as Seattle Pacific’s Jane Larson (2nd in the GNAC last week) passed Montez with less than 500m remaining. After being passed Sarah fought hard but couldn’t quite catch the low 4:30’s 1500m runner Larson before the tape. Two weeks after finishing third in the CCAA race, Sarah had placed third in the region and had defeated both CCAA rivals Alburez and Dianne Dunn (UCSD). Sarah’s success up front seemed to spark her teammates who were chasing from behind. Rounding the final corner to the finish and tucked in the middle of a group of six was Senior Lindsay Nelson. Although Nelson isn’t known for her leg-speed she held her own while finishing 9th overall. Quick to follow was another Senior Aisha Kamala who with her 12th place effort claimed her first, and very well earned All Region honor. Recording another very impressive finish was first year XC runner Kayla Silva who narrowly missed an All Region run with her 18th place finish. To put her effort into perspective Silva finished only 2 seconds behind sub 17:20 5k runner Emily McGregor of UCSD. Silva has enjoyed a great transition from the 400/800 to the 6k distance. Closing the scoring for the ‘Cats today was frosh Kara Lubieniecki. Kara’s 22nd place effort was an 8 place improvement over her CCAA race, putting her back on track with top level racing. Senior Dinora Moran was the first #6 runner to cross the line with a nice 26th place finish. The only difficult race of the day came from frosh Shannon McVannel who had a hip problem flare up in the third mile and barely finished.

Although the women didn’t win the regional title, they did compete quite well and there were plenty of positive signs of their efforts. *At CCAA’s the women were defeated by CSLA by 26 points. Today CSLA finished only 10 ahead of the ‘Cats. *The 64 point total notched by this year’s Chico squad was lower than the 67 points that CSLA scored to win last year’s regional title. *Most importantly was the fact that the Chico women competed hard and earned their 8th straight trip to the NCAA championships! Men’s “10k” (Reportedly 250m short of 10k) With only two athletes running with any previous regional experience the Chico coaches were cautiously optimistic about the chances for this young group. Their CCAA race was certainly a good indication that this was a capable group, but of course you have to go out and run the race, and this week the race would be a 10k. Much like the CCAA run two weeks previous the early pace in Boise was surprisingly relaxed. A huge pack of men swarmed through the mile marker at 5:12-5:14. All seven Chico men ran among this group with RS Soph Jordan Page spearheading the pack. Up the steep hill they ran, and soon one of four loops was covered with a lead pack of 30+ still in contention. The second loop shook a few athletes from the lead group and now 20-25 men ran among the leaders. Everyone from Chico with the exception of Jordan Fairley were among this group and looking smooth. Senior Tim Tollefson looked very comfortable and relaxed as he waited for the ante to be raised by the pre race favorites. In what was a fairly interesting race to witness, it seemed that each lap covered shook 5-10 men from the front pack, so with one lap remaining it was a great sight to see 6 Wildcats running among the lead pack of 16. No other team appeared to have more than 2 in the pack and the ‘Cats were definitely in control of the team race. Now it was a matter of holding their spots and seeing how many could earn their first All Region awards. In the fourth lap, pre race favorites and top returners John Riak, Sam Scotchmer, and David Kiplagat went to the front and quickened the pace. Not allowing them to slip away without a fight, the lone senior from Chico (Tollefson) covered the move and advanced over the hill for the final time in fourth position on the heels of Kiplagat. A hard surge over the finishing stretch put Tollefson ahead of Kipligat, but there was no catching Riak and Scotchmer who had separated earlier and were kicking for the win ahead.

Chico State's Lindsay Nelson, Kayla Silva and Kara Lubieniecki battle Western Region foes

Wildcat men are well represented in the lead pack mid race

In any event Tim would cross the line 3rd overall, and well ahead of his 20th place finish the year before. Kipligat sprinted in for fourth place, then came Western Washington’s Bennet Grimes in fifth. CCAA champ Vicente Moreno held on for sixth place, then came Humboldt’s All American Jasper Peach. In the next 6 seconds Chico’s 2,3,4, and 5 runners would cross the line, and complete their scoring for the day. Angel Marquez outkicked hometown favorite Kevin Lambert for the final All Region spot given the ‘Cats six of the first 15 to cross the line. Finishing Very strong today was Jordan Fairley who at the end of Loop 3 was barely among the top 30 overall. Fairley hit the tape 17th overall and gave the ‘Cats an impressive 46 second 1-7 gap! This year’s victory was unexpectedly one sided. The youth of Western Washington’s team seemed to show through as they have a very capable team on paper. Earning their first All West Region honors were: 3. Tim Tollefson (Sr) 8. Brendan Scanlon (Fr) 10. Michael Wickman (So) 11. Manny Mejia (Fr) 12. Jordan Page (So) 15. Angel Marquez (Jr)

No it's not a Gatorade commercial, the Chico State women are just glad to be able to fight another day

Wildcat men, almost as closely spaced as during the race, mug for the camera post race