Saturday September 15, 2012
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| Butte College transfer Ayla Granados made a solid Chico State debut, placing 11th to lead the Lady Cats to a third place finish at the West Coast Conference Preview |
| Chico State opens 2012 campaign at West Coast Conference Preview Chavez leads men to 2nd place finish, while Granados takes point for the LadyCats |
| By Gary Towne, Chico State head coach Saturday September 15, 2012 |
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Portland, Oregon -- The Chico State men’s and women’s cross country squads enjoyed a nice trip to the Northwest this weekend while competing in the DI heavy West Coast Conference Preview meet in Portland, OR. The meet included all DI teams (Mostly from the WCC) who will be competing in the Portland hosted WCC Championships on the same layout in late October. In addition to the WCC squads present (Portland, Gonzaga, LMU, Santa Clara and St. Marys) both Chico squads and Pac 12 Washington State (women) were also in attendance. The fields were quaint but quite impressive given the schools participating. The women’s “6k” course was a 3.5 loop layout around a slightly rolling Ferndale Park. The men ran the same course with an additional 1.1 mile skeleton loop. Not that times matter, but for those keeping score at home, the men’s “8k” measured 4.89mi on my GPS watch… thus the very swift finish times for the field. Of course the more impressive and important statistic at the end of the day is the team scores. On the men’s side, the ‘Cats placed 2nd overall behind Sixth ranked (NCAA-DI) Portland, while the women placed 3rd overall out of the 7 competing teams. Staying the evening after the race allowed for an amazing long run for both Chico squads on the beautiful Forest Park trails, before making the trek back to Chico. | ||
| Women’s 6K: The ‘Cats would start Saturday’s race a bit short-handed with 2010 CCAA 3rd placer Jonah Weeks unable to make the trip due to academic obligations. Also unable to join the fun (for precautionary reasons) was RS Frosh Quetta Peinado who was a 17:42 5k performer on the track last spring. In any event, a very capable and motivated group of harriers took to the course in Portland in hopes of helping the team to a solid finish. From the gun Ayla Granados (Butte College’s Female Athlete of the Year for ’11-’12) led the Wildcat charge, operating just inside the Top 20. Following closely behind were returning All Region runners Amy Schnittger, and Paige Henker. True frosh Anna Barcelo (who we were considering red shirting this season) was running unattached and also among the top 30 overall as the fast moving pack passed the mile mark. Sara Mikesell, Rebekah Bahra and red shirting true frosh Haley Kroll ran among the top half of the field, waiting for the excitement ahead to let up before making a move forward through the field.
As the race unfolded Granados held her position well and moved up a few spots as a few ahead fell off the early pace. Schnittger (who missed some training over the summer while vacationing Europe for 2 months) ran strong, but more or less held her place throughout. The quick early pace took it’s toll on Henker, who gave up some spots in the final kilometers and would eventually be caught by teammate Sara Mikesell who had passed nearly 50 athletes from the mile mark to the finish. As all of this was happening, a small frosh wearing a Chico State bookstore tank-top was cruising her way up into the Top-20 overall. Anna Barcelo a product of Nogales HS in Walnut, CA had enjoyed a surprising time trial the week before, and now she was running side by side with track All American Amy Schnittger in her first college race. |
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With solid closing speed Granados held her own on the quick track finish stretch, hitting the tape 11th overall. Only 17 seconds had expired before Barcelo hit the line (not scoring for the ‘Cats of course since she was racing unnat.). Teammate Schnittger (3rd in ’11 CCAA Championships) finished just behind Barcelo in 16th. Another surprise was the very savvy run of the red shirting true frosh Haley Kroll, who moved through much of the field during the course of the race and finished 21st overall. Sara Mikesell would be the third ‘Cat wearing the new Saucony kit to cross the finish (22nd) with Henker just behind at 23rd respectively. RS Frosh Rebekah Bahra would end the ‘Cats scoring with her 36th place collegiate debut. Natalie Galvan (43rd) and Hilary LaBelle (47th) would give the Chico ladies 7 among the top 50 overall.
Overall a very solid outing for the Wildcat women, who will only be better as the season moves on. On this note, there is a very good likelihood that Barcelo will NOT be wearing the bookstore tank top at next week’s Stanford Invitational. Stay tuned. Men's 8K: The men’s race pitted a Very strong Portland squad against the third ranked (DII) Chico State guys, and improved LMU and Gonzaga teams. With Isaac Chavez and Adrian Sherrod (Both Top-20 NCAA finishers a year ago) having missed a good amount of training in the past months, we knew it could be a tight battle for a top-3 finish. From the gun Chavez threw himself into the lead pack, while teammates Dayne Gradone, Alfonso Cisneros, Aaron Thomas and Adrian Sherrod followed somewhat closely. As different guys sprang from the front of the field, only to be re-absorbed Isaac just kept close, biding his time for the final loops. Fellow Juniors Dayne Gradone and Alfonso Cisneros worked together for much of the race inside the top 15-20. San Diego natives Adrian Sherrod and Aaron Thomas (debuting for the ‘Cats after transferring from SD Mesa) worked closely as well, inside the top ¼ of the field. 2011 All American Johnny Sanchez was out initially with Sherrod/Thomas, but faded over the final loops. |
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With a lap to go it appeared that Chavez might have a shot at winning the race, but several Portland runners surged to the front, which split the group, and Chavez was left battling for top-5 honors. A solid kick helped Chavez hold off Portland’s #3/4 guys while the Junior would place fifth overall. Cisneros would close well also, holding off LMU’s Sterling Lockhart (9:01 HS guy) while placing 13th overall. Gradone would finish just tick of the clock behind in 14th. Aaron Thomas found the finish just 7 seconds later, and Adrian Sherrod wrapped up the ‘Cats scoring day with his 23rd place run. With a 1-5 gap of only 31 seconds the ‘Cats had sewn up a nice 2nd place finish over a spunky Gonzaga team. Other notable performances came in the form of Alan Cuevas’ 26th place run, and red shirting frosh Aaron Mora’s 8k debut (30th). Overall this was a nice start for the ‘Cat men’s season. As Chavez, Sherrod and Sanchez continue to make strides toward their old form, and the younger athletes continue to make great progress, this men’s team should have a lot to look forward to in the coming months. Next up: For the ‘Cats will be the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto on Saturday Sept. 29th. Stanford should be another competitive affair with DII rival Adams State making the trip from Alamosa, CO, and of course many top DI’s including the Cardinal. |
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