St Leo, FL -- I'm proud to report that the Chico State cross country teams enjoyed productive runs at this weekend's NCAA Championships in Saint Leo, Florida. Both the men's and women's squads earned fourth place team finishes and the NCAA trophies that come with such placings. For the men's squad it was their first trophy run since 2011, while the women replicated their 4th place effort from a year ago. Although their places in Florida were the same, the route the two squads took to earn them varied dramatically. The men attacked the opening kilometers while leading the race at the first checkpoint, while the women rallied from an 11th place early split, to eventually finishing on the podium. It was another wild ride so buckle your seatbelts for the twists and turns that led to another pair of podium finishes for the Wildcats.

Men's Championship 10k: The men's lead into the NCAA race wasn't without some adversity. On Tuesday 3 time All American Will Reyes strained his hamstring during our final workout of the season before traveling to Florida the following day. Six, plus hours of flights and a 2am arrival into Florida the following day didn't do much to improve his situation. Reyes would take Wednesday and Thursday off running completely, while his teammates previewed the toughest NCAA layout that this coach has witnessed. On Friday Will made it through a pre-race run over the hilly terrain of the Abbey Golf Course, and his pre race strides on Saturday were his first form of faster running since the injury. A deep breath was taken by our coaching staff as the men's race started, because there were no guarantees that Will's hamstring would hold up over the challenging course.

The Abby course's start stretch was a microcosm of the entire layout. Athletes enjoy a gradual downhill for the initial 100m before climbing a steady 400-500m hill that levels for just a few meters before gradually dropping to the outer edge of the course. The men's 10k was in essence 2.5 X 2.5mi loops. The runners would climb this start stretch three times during the run, along with a number of other challenging assents. As the president of St Leo said while addressing the athletes and coaches the evening before at the pre race banquet "welcome to the alps of Florida!"

The Chico men went into the run with fairly high goals. They wanted to challenge Adams State, Colorado School of the Mines and Grand Valley State for a potential NCAA title and at minimum they wished to finish on the podium (Top-4). In the early going, the Chico men indeed showed that they had come to compete as our top 6 ran among the top 30 through the first kilometer. As the announcer read the first intermediate team placings after a mile of running your Chico Wildcats were leading the race.

Spearheading the effort at the front was Will Reyes who's hamstring caused a slowish start, but by 1k the senior was leading the chase pack that trailed a group of 3 talented Kenyans who had shot out to a wicked fast start. In the third kilometer of the race Will left the chase group and began chasing the Kenyans and Adams' 13:31 5k guy Sydney Gidabuday. As Will ran alone in the 100m of space that now separated the lead group from the main field, the remainder of the 'Cats were sorting out a bit within the field.

Running a very inspired race was Senior Aaron Mora who looked great while operating among the Top-15 overall. Given that Aaron's previous best NCAA Finish was in the 60's, this was a welcomed sight, but a bit scary at the same time. 2015 All American and NCAA 1500m runner-up Kyle Medina trailed Mora by a few strides. Usual number 7 man Arturo Arevalo was also out aggressively as he ran among the top 30 through 3k as well. Connor Fisher and Falco DiGiallonardo were positioned well, but body language didn't indicate that they were feeling comfortable in their surroundings. Remaining 'Cat Steven Martinez (17th @ NCAA's in '15) ran well behind the group as he had at the regional, which didn't bode well for our title hopes.

The trio of Kenyans at the front (including last year's NCAA champion and runner-up) kept a blistering pace that eventually shook Adams' Gidabuday and didn't allow Reyes the opportunity to close the gap. Given the circumstances Reyes ran the third, fourth, fifth and most of the sixth kilometers solo. Grand Valley's star Zach Panning would catch and pass Reyes just before 6k, but Will would run strong over the final half of the run to hold on to 6th overall at the finish.

At the half way mark Aaron Mora ran stride for stride with teammate Kyle Medina as the two split a very quick 14:58 over some tough terrain. Each ran among the top 20, but Mora's face showed that the early pace was taking it's toll. Connor Fisher ran through 5k in 15:08 but he too was showing a lot of pain, as was Arturo Arevalo who split 15:15. Falco DiGiallonardo crossed half way in 15:25 and Steven Martinez was fairly buried in the 15:30's.

Given the difficulty of the course the second half brought a lot of pain and slowing for the entire field, especially for those who had gone out too aggressively. Mora, and Arevalo both fought hard but lost places with every kilometer covered in the second half. Connor Fisher would lose some places as well, but held things together well enough to keep the 'Cats trophy hopes alive.

The final 400m of the course was fairly brutal as athletes climbed one last 200m rise before swinging around for a final 100m downhill sprint to the finish. Reyes ran in 7th place just behind Western State's Keifer Johnson going up the final climb, but knowing points were of the essence the senior hit another gear (even on a very painful hammy) and took back the 6th place spot at the line. Also doing great work over the final stretch was teammate Kyle Medina who ran in 15th with 400m remaining. Kyle found another gear in the final stretch and caught and passed an entire group, en route to an 11th place finish. Aaron Mora would appear next for the 'Cats holding on to an eventual 50th place finish. This would be the senior's best NCAA finish in his 4 years running the championships. A more modest start would most likely have made the difference between the 50th place run and the 8 secondes that separated him from All American, but there was no doubt that Mora had battled hard. Connor Fisher would cross the finish mat next in 56th, and just as he had at the regional Steven Martinez rallied over the final 4k to stop the 'Cats bleeding with his 69th place finish. DiGiallonardo and Arevalo would follow in 83rd and 111th places respectively.

As the scores were tallied the 'Cats would end up 4th overall. Number 1 ranked Mines who took 3rd on the day would finish just 13 points ahead. Regional foes Alaska Anchorage would finish 5th, but some 60ish points behind the 'Cats. The finish wasn't what we felt we were capable of on a better day, but there was no doubt that the Chico men had put a hard effort out while chasing a top result.

A few side-notes following Saturday's most recent trophy run: *2016 is the 7th trophy season in the 18 year run that we've been qualifying since 1999.
*The 'Cats have now finished among the top-10 at NCAA's in 17 of the past 18 seasons.
*The 'Cats have finished among the top-5 at NCAA's in 10 of those 18 races.
*Will Reyes joins Scott Bauhs, Charlie Serrano and Isaac Chavez as NCAA Top-6 individual placers.
*Kyle Medina is one of 8 'Cats in the history of the program who have finished among the Top-11 at the NCAA meet.

Women's 6k Championship: The Chico women went into the 2016 NCAA championships on a great roll in looking at recent results. They had easily won both CCAA and West regional races after a season of mixed results due to injury and sickness. Unfortunately the 6th ranked 'Cats were anything but on roll in the week leading up to our trip to Florida. The Friday following the regional triumph 2015 All American Sadie Gastelum came down with a bad flu. The following day brought word that Karlie (a track All American and 2nd overall at CCAA's) was also down and out with the flu. Sunday brought word that our #3/4 runner Hannah Dorman was diagnosed with Strep Throat. Add a nagging hip issue that #3 runner Alex Burkhart had been dealing with for weeks and you had a team that was hanging on by a thread as we headed into the biggest race of our season.

Travel and the days leading up to the race brought some positive signs and some not some worrisome. Hannah Dorman's strep throat seemed to pass quickly, but Sadie's flu had clearly left her weaker than normal. Karlie battled flu symptoms even through the eve before the race which left both she and Sadie with just a few hours of sleep the night before the race. If this team was going to challenge for a trophy they would need the sick athletes to battle through a very tough race, and our supporting runners would need to come through with big runs.

As athletes charged up the initial hill on the start straightaway Karlie Garcia ran in 240th place with everyone in the race running ahead of her. This wasn't the start we'd hoped for, but at least she was off an running. As the 'Cats crested the top of the start hill and headed to the outer portion of the course the 'Cats were buried in the field, but there was plenty of running ahead and a difficult layout to stretch the overzealous runners ahead.

Upon seeing watching the 'Cats run by at 2k I was fearful that we might not finish among the Top-10 teams overall. In looking at the chip splits after the race you can see that the 'Cats were in these places at the mile mark: Hannah Dorman-46th, Sadie Gastelum-72nd, Haley Kroll-93rd, Nora Pizzella-97th, Alex Burkhart-128th, Kayden Carpenter-132nd, and Karlie Garcia-154th (having already passed 82 athletes to get there). There was a lot of work to do over the final 4k of this run, but thankfully this group is well versed at moving through fields.

By 3k the Chico women had moved up 5 team places from the first checkpoint and now ran in 6th place as a team, but still 40+ points behind Simon Fraser's women who held the fourth position. Sadie Gastelum had jumped 42 places up into 30th by 3k and teammate Hannah Dorman kept steady running in the 40's overall. Karlie had charged up into the 80's by mid race and now ran with teammate Haley Kroll.

A mile later the 'Cats had moved into 5th position and now ran just 3 points out of a trophy with less than 10 minutes of racing to go.

By 5k the 'Cats had moved into fourth place and were putting points between themselves and the slowing Simon Fraser squad. Sadie now ran in 27th place and Hannah Dorman in 44th (17:56 split), leading the Chico women. Karlie Garcia ran in 58th position and Haley Kroll in 66th just four seconds behind. True frosh Nora Pizzella was now in 70th (18:12 split), and Kayden Carpenter was in 98th. Although Sadie Gastelum lost a few positions in the final kilometer of racing her teammates did a wonderful job of supporting their hurting teammate. Hannah Dorman would hold on nicely for a 46th place finish and Karlie would pass 8 more athletes over the final stretch to nab 50th. Haley Kroll sliced a huge 15 points off the 'Cats tally with a huge finish while taking 51st, behind Garcia. Also doing great work over the final kilometer was Nora Pizzella who sealed the 'Cats trophy by passing 11 over the final kilo while placing 59th respectively. Fellow frosh Kayden Carpenter would also slice 11 spots from her final place over the last stretch while placing 89th in her NCAA debut. Alex Burkhart, who's hip was not cooperating on the hilly layout struggled home in 114th place.

Given the week that this group had leading up to the championships it was quite surreal hearing the announcer confirm that the Chico women had indeed replicated their trophy run from 2015. Running without last year's CCAA XC Champion McCall Habermehl who's been out with injury, and with so many of our top runners dealing with setbacks, this trophy-run stacks up there as one of our best races at these championships.

Some extra tid-bits in reflection of the women's race:
*Sadie Gastelum joins a select few 'Cats who have earned All American in back to back cross country seasons.
*The Wildcat women have now finished among the Top 10 at the NCAA Championships in 15 of the past 17 years.
*The Chico women have now won 5 NCAA Top-4 trophies.
*The Chico women have finished among the Top-5 in 8 of the past 17 NCAA Championships races.