Chico State men distance the field to win 8th straight Western Regional Women also punch ticket to Nationals with strong second place finish

By Gary Towne, Chico State head coach Saturday, November 7, 2009

The women's Western Regional is underway with all the major contenders out front. Eventual winner Jessica Pixler (1) and runner-up Sarah Porter (422). Top Wildcat on the day, Tori Tyler, is in the middle of picture. (Cushman)

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- For the tenth straight season both squads qualified for the NCAA championships together, with the men's team enjoying their 8th straight regional title. The Chico women finished second to a very strong Alaska-Anchorage team and placed four among the All West Region team with frosh Paige Henker missing the honor by just one place. Overall it was a beautiful day in Golden Gate Park and a huge Thank You goes out to those who ventured out to support the 'Cats. Normally assists are recognized in sports like soccer, basketball and volleyball, but in cross country they aren't usually a part of the vocabulary or results sheets. On Saturday the Chico State Wildcat cross country squads received a huge assist from a vocal and spirited group of supporters that appeared to total around 150 strong. This group of fans that included family members, alumni, area Chico runners, and other various friends of the program, witnessed a great day in the history of the Chico State cross country team. Women's 6,000m: The 'Cats knew they had their hands full if they were to defend as West Region champs, with three other teams ranked among the top-10 nationally going into the West Regional. The strongest of which,

Alaska-Anchorage, had crushed the other two teams (Western Washington and Seattle Pacific) at their conference meet two weeks ago. The race was predictably fast from the gun with defending NCAA champ Jessica Pixler leading the charge. Pixler and Western Washington's Sarah Porter reached the mile mark in the low 5:20's and a fairly large chase pack that included CCAA champ Vivien Wadeck (CSLA), UCSD's Bre Schofield (CCAA runner up), Alaska's top-3, and Tori Tyler all reached the mile together in around 5:30. Running close behind were Chico's #2 Julie Shaw and AK's #4/5 gals who were followed closely by 'Cats teammates Alia Gray, Kara Lubieniecki, and Shannon Rich who had their sights on the green and white of Alaska ahead. RS frosh Paige Henker rolled through the mile just inside the top 35, but looking full of run for the miles ahead. During the second mile Porter and Pixler completely separated themselves from the field and the Kenyan duo of Ruth Keino and Miriam Kipng'Eno (both UAA runners) applied enough pressure to the chase pack to spread out the field of contenders. Tori Tyler was up to the task and much like she did at the '08 regional, she ran away from CCAA champ Vivien Wadeck and UCSD's Schofield as she chased AK's lead duo. Fellow senior Julie Shaw who earned All West Region as a true frosh but missed the distinction each season since, looked determined to finish among the Top group today as she battled SPU's #2 and multi time All American Jane Larson through the middle of the race. Gray and Lubieniecki had worked safely into the Top-15, but appeared to be somewhat stalled with their forward momentum as the race grew into the later stages. It appeared that the Seawolves would need a complete meltdown to lose the title, with Alaska having five safely in front of our 3rd for most of the race. A strong last lap surge by Pixler turned what had been a close race with Porter into a huge lead, giving the senior from Seattle her fourth straight regional title. Porter was strong enough to hang on for second place and now the Seawolves would show their strength as they put their top 3 across the line in 3rd, 4th and fifth places. Tori Tyler would start the 'Cats scoring with her sixth place run, with last year's 15th place NCAA runner Jane Larson crossing the line just behind. Julie Shaw hit the tape in 8th place, followed by Alaska's #4 (Laura Carr) and CCAA champ Wadeck.

Kara Lubieniecki sprinting to the finish. Also notice Paige Henker in the background outkicking CCAA runner-up Bri Schofield and 17:30 gal Natty Plunket (SPU). Further back was Wildcat Shannon Rich Chico state's sixth finisher in 21st place (Brusig)

Alia Gray (13th), Kara Lubieniecki (15th) and Paige Henker (16th) rounded out the 'Cats scoring with AK's #5 tucked in between Gray and Lubieniecki in 14th. Chico's #6 Shannon Rich beat every other team's #4 runner to the line (except AK of course) while finishing in 21st place overall. Senior Alyssa Flores was the only 'Cat to have a truly disappointing outing as she dealt with a calf problem that resulted in an 83rd place finish. After the dust had settled the team scores had Alaska safely atop the West with 35 points, Chico in second with 58, Seattle Pacific (4th in NCAA in '08) in third with 75, and tenth ranked Western Washington in fourth with 120 points. Although the 'Cats failed to defend their '08 regional title there were plenty of reasons to be excited for what's ahead. For starters their :33 second 1-6 spread will serve them well if they can continue this pack running approach at NCAA's. RS Frosh Paige Henker continued her amazing breakout season by scoring for the 'Cats in their biggest race to date, and just missed earning All West Region honors in a VERY difficult year (4 top-10 NCAA teams in the field!). Shannon Rich, also finished close to the 'Cats lead pack, which is a great sign as well.

Men's 10,000m: The men's race was somewhat conservative from the start with a large pack running together that included most of the expected top runners from the GNAC and CCAA conferences. The 'Cats had 4 among the leaders early and were led by the tandem of Jimmy Elam and Brent Handa who had gone 1-2 in the recent CCAA Championships. The pace quickened as the race developed. Somewhere around 5-6k mark GNAC champ Marko Chesetto (29:00 10k credentials) threw in surge that left no doubt that he had plans of improving on his 2008 regional run where he finished second to Scott Bauhs. Thus the battle was on for second!. Somewhere inside the final 2 miles Western Washington's Jordan Welling a 14:17 track performer last spring, hit the jets and took off from the chase pack. Chico's Elam fell off the pack to some degree, while Handa hung strong with Alaska's #2 Micah Chelimo. Beau Gradone-Rogers had been working together with teammate Michael Wickman from the start, but Rogers began to move forward in an attempt to join Handa and Elam ahead. Wickman struggled through the final miles of the tough 10k course to lose a few places, although he still remained among the top-10 overall. Alan Campos and Joey Kochlacs had moved up nicely through the middle miles as each ran just inside the top-20 with little more than one circuit of the course remaining (almost 2 miles). Few places changed over the final 2 miles as Chesetto managed to stay well ahead of the field, while Welling hung strong for second place. Micah Chelimo's superior finish netted him third place while Brent Handa would enjoy a fourth place finish in only his second race in a CSUC uniform. Teammates Elam and Rogers closed well in 5th and 6th while Wickman out-kicked Alaska's Alfred Kangogo to place 9th. Alan Campos ended the 'Cats scoring with his 18th place finish while Joey Kochlacs followed closely a place behind. Brendan Scanlon, though starting well, struggled with an achilles problem from the second mile to the finish and would go on to finish a disappointing 38th overall. With the 'Cats sixth runner placing 19th overall and finishing 20 seconds ahead of WWU's #4, the Chico men had an easier time at this year's regional than most had expected. The top four men for the Wildcats earned All West Region honors with Elam and Handa earning their first such distinction. In the look ahead to NCAA's, the 'Cats a big goal will be to fill some of the 38 second gap that separated the 4-5 runners on Saturday. If achieved, the Chico crew appears capable of running among the top 3-4 teams in the country.

A nice shot of the men's lead pack as they run through the mile at a conservative effort in attacking the race's first real hill. (Brusig)

The lead men's pack begins to string out halfway through the second circuit of the course. (Brusig)

The mens and womens teams and coaching staff were pleased with Saturday's results and now turn the their focus toward the upcoming NCAA championships to be held in Evansville, Indiana in two weeks time (November 21). The Evansville course is very challenging and should offer a good test for both Wildcat squads.

The 2009 NCAA West Regional Women Team runner ups! (Cushman)		The 2009 NCAA West Regional Men's Team Champions! (Cushman)
For additional West Regional race photos click here