Bauhs, Scanlon lead men to 7th straight conference title Women nearly as dominating as Wildcats sweep CCAA meet

By Gary Towne, Chico State head coach Saturday October 25, 2008

Vivien Wadeck(Cal State LA), Tori Tyler, Tiffany Turner (Pomona), Bre Schofield (UCSD - behind Wadek) make their way up the initial hill during the opening mile.

SAN BERNARDINO -- I'm proud to announce that the 2008 Chico State cross country squads represented the university quite well over the weekend, sweeping CCAA team titles together for the fifth time since joining the CCAA conference in 1998. I'm also very pleased to announce that 17 of our 20 competing athletes earned All CCAA Conference honors, by placing in the Top-15 in their respective races. Sophomore Jessica Nelson missed by only 1 place and teammate Katie Spencer by just five spots. We are very happy with how well both squads performed on Saturday. Now on to the races. Before going into detail about the races I should probably give a short description of the course that we were up against on Saturday. Given the vast amount of grassy areas in the Glen Helen Park area I was a bit disappointed to say the least in what was a road race type layout on Saturday. The course started on a wide open paved area that resembled an airport runway, then turned left up the only dirt stretch on the entire route (a solid half mile of climbing) to a high point that topped out several hundred vertical feet and 1200m from the start area. The athletes now horse-shoed back down the same hillside, only now they ran on paved roads for the remainder of both races (outside of the final 400m stretch which was routed onto some grass). After a long descent that

bottomed out at 1.5 miles both courses start another solid climb as they run a mile loop (for the men 2 loops) around a giant amphitheatre. The first half of the loop is a solid climb, and the second half of the loop is a swift downhill stretch. The women would do one of these loops before hitting the 3 mile mark and heading back toward a downhill/flat finish stretch. The men would enjoy two loops around the amphitheatre before finishing with the same stretch as the women had before them. Women's 6,000m: Given the layout at hand and it's difficult spectator layout I decided to move to a position about half mile into the race that was about midway up the steep initial climb. As the leaders of the women's race came by, a pack of 5 had formed and separated from the chasing field behind. Leading the pack was pre race favorite Vivien Wadeck (CSLA) with Pomona's Tiffany Turner, San Diego's Bre Schofield, Chico's Tori Tyler, and an unwise Stanislaus athlete who would quickly find out how over her head she was. Having looked at a picture that I had taken of the leaders at this point I'm almost surprised to note that Tori Tyler was the lone Wildcat in the top-20 at the half mile mark. They may not have positioned themselves right with the leaders by the half mile, but the rest of the Chico women were running well as they passed my vantage point in the top half of the field. With 3 miles of racing ahead and with some solid hills mixed in, I wasn't too worried about our chances. At the 1.5 mile mark Chico's Tori Tyler assumed the overall lead, pressing the pace at the front and putting a small bit of space between herself and Wadeck. Scholfield and Turner followed several strides behind. As the chasing pack of athletes reached the bottom of the long downhill it was obvious that the Chico women had collectively moved up in the field. Now our entire 10 ran among the top-30 overall and the 2-3-4 trio of Shannon McVannel, Alia Gray, and Kara Lubieniecki ran stride for stride among the front of the chase pack in the top 10-12 overall. In our pre race meeting the evening before the race we talked about being confident in your fitness and letting the cream rise to the top during the race. On a challenging course such as this, those who were patient and poised would certainly sort themselves out from those who weren't. I had hoped that these words would come to fruition during the race but even I wasn't prepared for just how well the Ladycats would sort themselves out in the difficult middle miles of this race. Given the layout of the course, there was no use in one heading to the amphitheatre area because you could not make it back in time to see the finish of the race. I therefore decided to find a spot about 400m from the finish that would allow some cheering at a key point leading into the finish stretch. As the leaders approached the familiar white hat that Vivien Wadeck sports in each race came into view. She held a commanding lead over Pomona's Tiffany Turner. Just as I'd shared in my preview last week Schofield of SD followed close behind Turner in third. The long white socks that are a trademark of Chico's Tori Tyler on race days came into view just off Schofield. Having heard the announcer detail some of the action from mid race I'd known that Tori had fallen off the lead pack but it was good to see that she'd held on well over the final mile. I have to admit I wasn't exactly prepared for what came next. One after another Chico Wildcats came to view led by the McVannel, Lubieniecki and Gray. The three had done just as hoped, and worked together the entire race, and once again their final spread was within 4 seconds this week! Freshman Stephanie Consiglio came to view next, followed closely by fellow frosh Shannon Rich who would represent Chico's 6th runner to eventually place among the top 9 overall. CSLA's 2-3 finished next followed closely by Pomona's Amber Hebb and CSLA's Dora Perez. The next three places were taken by Chico runners Kayla Silva, Colleen Joyce and Jessica Nelson giving the 'Cats 9 in the top 16. Frosh Katie Spencer would be the final Chico runner across the line, finishing a very respective 20th overall in the field of 94. Men's 8,000m: Having watched the Women take 6 of the top 9 spots and score a miniscule 30 points I remember wondering if the guys could match this performance. It took 26 minutes for the men to answer this question with a resounding YES. The men used the very same tactic that the women had before them to accomplish a very similar outcome. Given the rising temps that seemed to be around 80 degrees at the start, the Chico men played their cards conservatively in the first mile. The plan was for Bauhs and Scanlon to work together near the front, creating a pace that was fast enough to eventually claim the top spots but not any more quickly than needed to get this done. As the race progressed things were sorting out quite well. Scott Bauhs and Brendan Scanlan worked together near the front of a large pack as they moved by at the half mile, at about mid-climb. Most of the favorites were on the shoulders of the Top-Cats including UCSD's All Region ('06)

performer Jesse Morril and Pomona's Jersain Torres (course record holder at Glen Helen). As the men headed into the first amphitheatre loop Bauhs and Scanlon ran stride for stride just ahead of teammate Angel Marquez who had a few steps over Pomona's Torres. Perhaps the biggest surprise to this point was who was running in fifth place overall. Chico's usual #9-#13 runner Alan Campos ran on the heels of Torres looking VERY composed and confident. A pack of UCSD and Chico State runners came by next as everyone prepared for the two difficult loops of the outer area. After the first of these two loops had been completed not a lot had changed in the overall order. Bauhs and Scanlon cruised together just ahead of Marquez and Torres. Campos was still in fifth place but had fallen a bit off Torres' pace. Chico's Beau Rogers had moved into the 6th position now with teammate Manny Mejia just behind in 7th. Eighth and Ninth and Tenth places were occupied by UCSD's lead trio of Max Mullender, Jake LeVieux, and Jesse Morril. Chico's Jordan Fairley ran among this group and appeared ready to sweep by them over the final miles of the course. Usual Top-7 guy Clinton Hayes was unfortunately dealing with some Achilles issues and was sliding from contention at mid race. Running an exact opposite race was Sophomore transfer Tim Cannon who ran in the 30's at the two mile mark, but would eventually finish 10th overall! Having set up in the same spot that I had for the women's race at the 400m to go point, I was happy to see Bauhs and Scanlon cruising together and enjoying a solid workout type effort at the front. Given that Bauhs hadn't won a CCAA title in XC yet I light-heartedly commented to Scanlon as they went by that if he beat Scotty I would kick him off the team. The comment garnered a chuckle from each as they enjoyed the finish stretch together. Senior Angel Marquez looked comfortable as well in holding off Pomona's Torres for third overall. Torres claimed the fourth spot, dashing Chico's chances of matching the '04 Wildcat women's 15 point score. However what came next was a complete train of Wildcats. Beau Rogers, Jordan Fairley, Alan Campos, and Manny Mejia would claim the next four spots securing the win for the 'Cats. After the Trident's Jake LeVieux took the 9th spot, Chico's #8 and 9 runners Tim Cannon and Thomas Whitcomb gave the 'Cats 9 of the Top 11 overall. Clinton Hayes' tough day with an Achilles flare-up left him in 35th overall and the sole Chico State runner

The big three for the women this year (L-R) Kara Lubieniecki, Shannon McVannel, and Alia Gray (they each finished within 4 seconds of each other)

Bauhs, Scanlon, and Marquez all in the lead group at 1.5 miles

not to garner All CCAA honors. The final winning total of 17 points is the lowest score recorded for a CCAA championship event since the 'Cats scored 16 in winning the 2005 title. The latest title gives the Chico men 7 wins in a row, which is the most consecutive titles by any CCAA men's team in any of the currently contested sports in the conference. Bauhs became Chico's fifth individual champion since David Braund, was the first to do so, in winning the 2001 race. Up Next: West Regional Championships in San Diego, CA. The Chico State men will chase their 7th West Region Title in a row, while the Chico women try to improve on last year's 3rd place regional finish. Michael Wickman who has raced only once this season (with Mono) will return for the men's squad. Michael has been working out with the team and looking good while doing so. The returning All West Region runner will be a much needed shot in the arm for the men's team who will be up against a Very talented team from Anchorage, Alaska. More on the regional in the coming days.

Chico Women-CCAA Team Champs '08 (L-R) Standing: Kayla Silva, Katie Spencer, Stephanie Consiglio, Tori Tyler, Shannon McVannel, Jessica Nelson Seated- Shannon Rich, Alia Gray, Colleen Joyce, Kara Lubieniecki

Men's Team Champions L-R (Coach Boivin, Clinton Hayes, Alan Campos, Jordan Fairley, Scott Bauhs, Coach Towne, Angel Marquez, Brendan Scanlon, Tim Cannon, Beau Rogers, Manny Mejia, Thomas Whitcomb, Danny DiMeo