Joplin, MO-- Each summer as the Chico State XC teams convene at our annual summer training camp in Lake Tahoe, the group establishes goals for the year, and plans for what it will take to hopefully achieve these. Minimum goals usually include the pursuit of Top-4 NCAA trophies, given that our expectations are always high. On Saturday our women's team achieved their goal with a very stellar 4th place finish in the 32 team field, while the men came up 1 runner short of achieving theirs while placing 6th overall. After last year's 13th and 14th place debacle in muddy Louisville, it was very rewarding to re-establish ourselves as a top team in the NCAA once again.
For the Chico women this would be their 4th such trophy finish in the history of the program, and 14th Top-10 finish in the past 16 years. The Chico men have placed among the top-6 overall in 12 of the past 14 NCAA Championship races. It should be noted that Saturday's performances were achieved in very non-California like conditions, as temperatures hovered in the 30's through the morning, and 20+ mile per hour winds produced a wind chill that yours truly had yet to experience at an XC event. There is much to be proud of as we reflect upon Saturdays races and the season overall.
Women's 6K Championship:
Unlike 2014 when our women were dealing with late season sickness and injuries, this year's group was clicking on all cylinders as the group headed into Championship weekend. Workouts were faster than they had been all season, and attitudes were positive. The biggest challenge for the 'Cats pursuit of a podium finish was the strength of the top 3 seeded teams. Adams State's women had won their very tough region with a miniscule amount of points, and they weren't even ranked first nationally. Grand Valley State the defending champs returned nearly their entire squad that swept the top-3 places overall in '14. Hillsdale College was the 2014 NCAA runners up and returned every member of this team including NCAA pre-race favorite Emily Oren who has run under 10 minutes for the 3k steeplechase event in track. Barring a massive implosion from one of the top three seeded teams just mentioned, the 'Cats were fighting with the remaining 28 teams in the field for the one remaining podium spot.
With all of this being said, the plan for the Chico women was to execute their race plans to the best of their abilities, and then see where the team scores ended up. Constant thoughts before and during the race of trophies wouldn't help our chances of garnering one of course. Each athlete had an individualized plan of attack going into the race, and everyone did their best to follow these plans. Although none of this year's 'Cats had raced on the Joplin course, the NCAA's have been conducted 3 times previously on the same layout, so yours truly poured through past data from the course, when developing plans for today's 'Cats. A common thread that was used in directing each, was the amazing 14th place run of Sara Mikesell in 2012. Sara shared her race experience in words to the team and yours truly and they definitely helped in creating plans that we felt would maximize our chances on Saturday.
The course in Joplin narrows drastically around 500m into the race, and then athletes navigate through a course with many turns and undulations. If you're caught too far back in the 250 runner field, you are in essence like a driver in a traffic jam on the freeway, while motorists up ahead are driving un-obstructed.
Although our women aren't fond of exaggerated fast starts, they did a good job of positioning themselves in the early going.
A group of 10 women had broken clear of the field and crossed the mile split mat just under 5:20. 4-5 more women followed in the gap between this first pack and before the next would hit the mat. Sadie Gastelum would be the first 'Cat woman to hit the mile, as she ran through in 35th place and on the heels of a large chase group (5:32 split for Sadie). Alex Burkhart, Quetta Peinado and McCall Habermehl rolled over the mile mat within a few seconds of one another (5:40-5:43) running in 66-77th positions respectively. Olivia Watt and Haley Kroll followed just a few seconds behind just outside of the Top-100.
As the elite group of 10 at the front separated and distanced themselves from the field, Sadie Gastelum methodically moved herself closer and closer to the front of the chase pack. By 3k (the half-way mark of the 6k) Gastelum had moved up to 23rd overall and looked full of run. Quetta Peinado had moved into 59th overall, Burkhart 61st and McCall Habermehl ran in 68th at the mid way point. Haley Kroll (99th) would be counted on now to be the 'Cats final scorer as teammates Olivia Watt and Lora James were sliding backward through the field as they approached the second half of the run.
The final 3k brought a consistent improvement of places by all of the Wildcat scorers. Sadie Gastelum never settled throughout the run, and with ½ mile to go the junior now ran among the Top-15 overall along with some very decorated runners. As things shook out over the final kilometers Sadie lost a kick to Adams State's #2 runner Jenna Thurman for the first finisher After the group of ten who ran away from the front of the field in the early going. An amazing run for Gastelum who'd placed 156th, and 70th in her two previous NCAA runs.
The trio of McCall Habermehl, Alex Burkhart and Quetta Peinado never ran more than a few strides from one another throughout the race, and their eventual 50, 51, and 58th place finishes were a key to the eventual team trophy. It should be pointed out that this three were separated by only 3 seconds at the end of the race, yet 8 places had elapsed during that short window. Despite having only a fraction of a season of training under her Junior Haley Kroll hammered home to an eventual 89th place run, to stop the 'Cats scoring. Kroll had undergone compartment surgery in June and wasn't able to handle a normal training week until October, making her race all that more incredible. Lora James (170th) and Olivia Watt (204th) would struggle home after tough outings.
With the 4th place finish the 'Cats continue to add to a rich history of NCAA successes. It was the women's 14th Top-10 finish in the past 16 years and their seventh Top-5 finish in that same span. And the 'Cats fourth trophy run was just as rewarding as all of those before, given the amount of work and commitment this group had poured into the pursuit of NCAA hardware.
Men's 10K Championship: The Chico men did a very commendable job of establishing early positioning from the start. In 2012 (the last time we raced in Joplin) the Chico men had only 1 runner inside the top-100 at the 2k mark, and eventually finished just 1 point shy of the podium. The goal Saturday was to challenge for the win, while running smart races. Surprisingly the pace at the front of the run was somewhat modest for championship standards. Perhaps it was the cold/windy conditions, but the leaders hit 2k in 6:01 and amazingly 100 runners passed over the mat in the next 5 second span. All seven 'Cats were tucked into the top-100 fold at this point of the run, but of course there was an important 8k of racing ahead.
The next 3k of racing brought some major changes and a big split between the 'Cats top-4 (who were all having pretty solid days) and their 5,6,7 runners. Unknown to coaches, Steven Velarde (The 'Cats #3 at Regionals) had strained his calf in the first 3k of the race and gutted out the remaining 7k of racing. Caton Avilla and Connor Fisher had damage control looks on their faces well before 5k, which wasn't a good sign for the 'Cats as they headed into the second half of the run.
Will Reyes, who was running in his first NCAA Championship race, looked great throughout the first half of the race. At times he was at the front of the lead pack, and at other times he bided his time on the heels of the front line. As the leaders hit the 5k mark at mid race, an amazing 30 runners crossed the timing pad between 15:03 and 15:06. Thankfully Reyes was safely in this grouping, while teammates Steven Martinez and Kyle Medina both rolled through in 15:08 at 36th and 39th positions. Aaron Mora crossed the mid-way matt at 15:15 (57th position) and didn't look to be having his best outing, but was fighting hard to maintain his position. The remaining three 'Cats crossed the 5k between 15:36 and 15:41, but none appeared to be moving forward in the field unfortunately.
During the 7th kilometer of the race the Kenyans took control of the run and cranked up the pace. Eventual winner Alfred Chelenga seized the lead and the once 20 strong front pack quickly began to string out. Just short of 7k Will Reyes ran in 7th position and 4 seconds off the lead. Steven Martinez had moved up from 36th place into 28th by 7k and looked to be gaining ground on those ahead of him with every stride. Kyle Medina had slid a few spots since 5k and now ran in 44th position with 3k remaining. Mora had also lost a few places, but looked composed as he faced the final 3k of racing.
Although he gave up a few spots over the final 3k Will Reyes fought valiantly and held on for a 10th place finish (30:02 final time). Steven Martinez rallied well over the final stretch to nab 17th place in 30:10. Kyle Medina also rallied over the final kilometer as he would hit the finish 34th overall while earning his first All American cross country honors. Medina's rush to the finish carried him past CCAA rival Mark Huizar (Pomona's top runner on the day). Aaron Mora would find the finish next as the junior would place 69th overall with his 31:00 mark.
Unfortunately for the 'Cats podium chances, a total of 80 runners would find the finish between Mora and our final scorer Steven Velarde, who struggled home with the bum calf.
On the strength of the team's first four runners, a 6th place finish was still achieved by the men. Given how close the Chico men were to earning a team trophy and given the potential of this team, there's no denying that this result stings a bit. With this being said, today's less than ideal outcome is still a much better result than our 14th place showing in Louisville last year. Also, the 'Cats return their entire top-10 runners for the 2016 season, with a good number of them having NCAA experience under their belts now. Hopefully 2016 will be the season that sees both squads on the podium once again.
Thank you all for the support though this season. It's certainly been one to remember. Enjoy your holidays and look out for us this track season!
