for footing. After an evening that included additional snowfall Friday's second look at the course saw that things had changed dramatically. The course was now completely covered in several inches of snow, and of course it was still falling from the sky. Saturday would be interesting for sure. Having dealt with 80 degree temps in San Diego at the regional, the Wildcats would now adjust their focus on dealing with extreme cold, wind, and slippery white footing.
A major theme of the pre-race talks the evening before the championships was to enjoy the opportunity to run in conditions that were different and unique. Youth runners in California grow up looking at pictures of athletes in other states competing on snow covered courses in amazing backdrops, and here we had the perfect opportunity to enjoy a championship race in a similar setting.
On Thursday the team took a day/evening trip to Pittsburgh and enjoyed the famous uphill trolley ride that offers an amazing view of the skyline and the rivers that intersect the Steel City. Given the Steelers home game that evening, hardcore Steelers fans were seen everywhere tail-gaiting before the game.
Friday night everyone enjoyed a festive pre-race meal that brought together the competing Chico-athletes, many of the parents, Alumni, supporters who'd made the trip, and even Athletic Director Anita Barker who picked up the tab for the team and coaches (Thanks Anita!).
Now on to the races:
Men's 10k NCAA Championship Race: The Wildcat men faced a tough challenge at this year's national championships. Abilene Christian (defending champs), Adams State (ranked #1 in final NCAA poll), Harding (5th guy was 18th in NCAA in '07!), and Western State (perennial power) were all sending VERY good squads to the line on Saturday, then add 4 more regional champion teams (ourselves included) and you have the makings of one of the all-time great championship races in Division II history.
In addition the Slippery Rock course, for this year's championships, was a very tricky one. The start stretch (covered in several inches of snow) took the runners straight up the longest and steepest climb on the course before reaching the high point at nearly 600meters. From here the large group of athletes wrap around the back-side of the hill, horseshoeing back toward the start on a difficult off-camber and slippery snow covered stretch that invited a bad fall to anyone who lacks balance and coordination. After negotiating this tough stretch the remainder of the course was a series of loops through the undulating terrain of the Coopers Lake Campground that was tough and challenging, but definitely no harder than the hill repeats the Chico teams have endured in Forest Ranch, Centerville, and Upper Bidwell Park this fall.
(The Race)
Given that terrain with poor footing is difficult to make up ground on, the Chico men started more aggressively than normal to put this theory to the test. Senior Scott Bauhs who's pursuit of the individual title at this race has been well documented, blasted off the line and hit the steepest section of the hill running side by side with pre-race Co-Favorite Daniel Kirwa. From the gun it was obvious that both of these undefeated and talented runners were prepared to challenge the other for the title. As the two leaders strode hard up the initial climb the 180+ runner chase-pack behind ran aggressively with everyone fighting for early positioning.
Only one athlete fell during the descent on the backside of the hill and ironically that was Cal-PA's Chris Clark who had won his regional several weeks before on this very same layout (sans snow).
As the leaders made their way through the throng of screaming fans (that included some 25+ Chico State runners who made the trip out) it was obvious that the Chico men had indeed placed themselves well among the field. All 7 Wildcat men ran in the top 1/3rd of the race as they approached the mile mark. This was good, but of course there were still 5+ miles of racing left to be run.
Surprisingly Bauhs' honest early pace seemed to be squeezing Kirwa a bit and the talented Kenyan from Harding lost a few strides during the first half of the second mile. Sensing some weakness from his foe Bauhs decided to crank the pace a bit, which put several more strides between he and Kirwa. By 2 miles Kirwa had been passed by last year's NCAA runner-up Aaron Braun (a Junior from Adams State). The remainder of the race was a gallant effort by Braun to close the gap between himself and Bauhs, but with little to no success.
As Bauhs developed a commanding lead from the front, things were not going so well with a couple of his teammates. Sophomore Jordan Fairley and Manny Mejia started to fade in the middle miles, losing places with each mile covered. However Angel Marquez, Beau Rogers and Michael Wickman were each picking up a few places with each mile, tactically moving themselves closer to the front. Caught somewhere in the middle of this process was an ailing Brendan Scanlon who'd finished 20th at the NCAA meet a year ago, and has run as the #2 for the 'Cats much of this season. Unfortunately the hamstring soreness that Scanlon had developed during the regional races were re-surfacing and he was lacking power in his stride. Nevertheless Brendan hung tough with good help by the many miles he's logged this season and he was able to limit the number of guys that would pass over the final kilometers of the race.
With little over a mile to go, it was apparent that Marquez, Rogers and Wickman (none of whom had ever earned All American honors in XC before) were enjoying their best XC races ever. Marquez had worked up to the Top-25, while Wickman and Rogers were now among the Top-40 and looking great. The final quarter mile of the course takes the runners through what can be best described as a castle for a movie set. The course loops the runners through the front door from the uphill side of the castle, and then athletes have 300m of sprinting to the finish. With a comfortable lead Bauhs enjoyed the final stretch taking in the final 45 seconds of his NCAA running career while the crowd showed their appreciation for his efforts. Braun held on strong for second while Kirwa fade over the final miles cost him several places before finishing 7th overall.
Kirwa's undoing was reflective of his team's performance as several of his teammates also had their worst days of the year. Also not having a good day was defending champion Abilene Christian who's usually strong Top-5 was very spread out today. The race for one of the Top-4 trophies was going to be interesting!
Running a sound final kilometer and kicking down Adams' #4 Angel Marquez made his final XC race in a Chico State Uniform count as the Senior notched a 23rd place finish (he was 47th a year ago, and didn't make the NCAA squad in '06). Also closing well were Michael Wickman, who shaved off 62 places from his '07 NCAA performance, and Beau Rogers, who managed a very impressive 35th place finish in his first NCAA championship. Holding on tight in a big way was Scanlon, who didn't let his ailing hammy slow his final stretch run, continued to fight hard for every spot. Brendan stopped the Wildcat scoring with his 53rd place finish just one second behind Grand Valley's regional champion Chris Hammer. Mejia and Fairley struggled to the line in 95th and 109th, but thankfully their rougher outings wouldn't hamper the 'Cats team score on this day.
As the Chico men posed for post race pics with the beautiful snow covered start hill behind them, the announcer counted down the team scores one by one... When he read that Grand Valley had placed 5th, a large cheer erupted from the Chico crowd who knew that they had at least earned a Team Trophy. The next team recognized was Abilene Christian, which drew another loud ovation from the 'Cats and their fans. And finally upon hearing the eventual 3rd place finish place everyone celebrated in the snow, forgetting for a few moments of just how darn cold it was outside!
The 3rd place finish ties the 1969 and 2005 Chico State teams for the best finish in the program's history. The final score of 120 points was though, the lowest the Chico State men have ever scored at this meet. The four All Americans was an all time high as well for the Chico men who had much to celebrate with this performance.
Women's 6k Championship:
Experience counts for a lot at the NCAA meet, and unfortunately our women's team lacked this in a big way. With the weather taking a turn for the worse between the men's and women's races (it started snowing hard during the women's run and the winds picked up) the pressure and difficulty would be notched up even more for our relatively inexperienced group. Given the same instructions to get solid early position several of our top athletes
took this too literally and Sophs Kara Lubieniecki and Shannon McVannel led the entire field to the base of the steepest section of hill, before finally surrendering the lead
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