The upper loop area where the athletes spend the majority of the 2nd and 4th miles was quite windy and Bauhs' pace slowed dramatically as he managed only a 5:00 second mile (9:31 split at 2 miles). With no one close and with course records now out of reach, Bauhs ran the final kilometers at an intensity that insured victory but shy of "all out". Teammate Brendan Scanlon spent the middle miles running alone a few strides ahead of the chase pack before being absorbed and eventually beaten by the 2007 West region champ John Riak (St Martins) and two other athletes. Jordan Fairley and Angel Marquez, having sorted their way through 25+ runners over the second half of the race, hit the tape in 7th and 8th places overall. Thomas Whitcomb who was enjoying his best race in a Wildcat jersey closed the Chico scoring with his 12th place 25:18 effort. Beau Rogers, Clinton Hayes, Tim Cannon and Manny Mejia all finished ahead of second place Southern Oregon's #3 which ensured a lop-sided victory for the 'Cats. The good news was that the men had easily won their fifth Willamette title in convincing fashion, but given the slowish times recorded on Saturday the men understand that they will need a much better performance in the coming weeks if they are to contend for top honors at the regional and national competitions.
A few efforts from the men that stood out on Saturday: Thomas Whitcomb as mentioned earlier enjoyed a solid run in Salem. The hard working junior appears to be building into the post season nicely. Clinton Hayes has come a long way since last year when he spent most of the season outside of the 'Cats top-20 runners. Alan Campos: After receiving a "flat tire" (shoe stepped on) in the first mile. Alan stopped to fix the shoe, then went to work on catching up with the competitors that he'd hoped to be running with. It took most of the remaining 4 miles but Alan moved up well and eventually finished 31st overall! Senior Isaias Escobedo had a solid day on Saturday as well after a difficult training stretch this summer. RS Frosh Joshua Linen also enjoyed his best race of the year thus far while placing 54th overall in 26:08. Our hard luck athlete of the day/year is Joey Kochlacs who has struggled through tonsillitis, an ear infection, the flu and most recently food poisoning......all this season! The most recent setback came after purchasing a pre made sandwich at the U of O bookstore the day before the race. Hopefully with some luck Kochlacs will enjoy a good run in San Francisco on Friday.
Women's 5,000m: To say that the Chico State women's cross country team is coming along nicely might be an understatement. The depth of quality is very easy to see when breaking down the results of this week's Top-10 'Cats. Keep in mind that Katie Spencer the team's #5 finisher at the Aztec Invit was unable to race in Oregon due to personal commitments at home.
5. Tori Tyler (JR) 17:57
8. Alia Gray (FR) 18:09
10. Kara Lubieniecki (SO) 18:11
11. Shannon McVanell (S0) 18:12
16. Hannah Dillard (FR) 18:35
25. Colleen Joyce (SO) 18:47
28. Shannon Rich (FR) 18:48
33. Kayla Silva (SR) 18:51
36. Stephanie Consiglio (FR) 18:53
37. Jessica Nelson (JR) 18:54
The 57 second gap between 1-10 runners for the 'Cats speaks volumes for the potential of this team, both this season and in the coming years (notice only one senior in the bunch!).
The women's race was quick from the start as most tend to be. Tori Tyler shared the lead at the mile with last year's D3 NCAA 11th place finisher Maddie Coffman (Willamette U), and UCSC's Mikayla Murphy. The three sailed through with a very quick split in the mid to low 5:30's looking fairly comfortable. Somewhere in the second mile Murphy and Coffman made a break from Tyler. The Sophomore from Gunn HS was left running solo until the final 150 where she was caught and passed on the track (the races finish on the Willamette track) by several quick finishers. As Tori hit the tape 5th overall, teammates Alia Gray, Kara Lubieniecki and Shannon McVanell who had been working together the entire race were already on the track surface themselves and were bearing down on the line. With four across in 18:12 or faster (and inside the top-12) the team title was well within reach. RS frosh Hannah Dillard who's still returning to her old form from high school where she ran sub 18 on the Stanford layout, took another step forward this weekend with her 18:35 finish. The most improved runner on the Wildcat roster, Colleen Joyce recorded another solid outing as well (18:47-25th place). A great seasonal breakthrough came in the form of Shannon Rich's performance. Shannon moved up nicely through the field during the race and recorded a cross country 5k pr with her 18:48 time. Overall this was a solid performance for the Chico Women!
The Wildcat women are currently ranked #4 nationally but it remains to be seen if this young group is truly worthy of this ranking. One thing is for sure though. There is still a lot of potential for improvement. Chico's sole returning All American Kayla Silva is still working into shape after a summer bicycle accident left her off her feet for most July and August. As Silva and Dillard continue to make their way forward the coming weeks should be interesting.
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