Ceres, CA -- As the years go by and conference titles add up, streaks are created, and the pressure (whether you like it or not) adds up. I'm happy to announce that all of our growing CCAA streaks are still in tact after Saturday's championship races in Ceres, CA. Both men's and women's squads enjoyed surprisingly lop-sided victories, while earning their 16th (men) and 10th (women) straight wins. Kyle Medina would become the 'Cats 10th straight male victor with his 24:16 winning time, while Hannah Dorman would lead the Lady 'Cats to victory with her 20:50 course record effort.

In 2002, two confident and gutsy groups of Chico harriers upset top ranked UC Davis to claim our program's first two CCAA titles, and we haven't looked back since. All told the 'Cats have now won 30 of the 32 CCAA Championship races that have been contested since those first two titles were earned in 2002.

This year's championships were hosted by Stanislaus State on the River Oaks Golf Course in Ceres, CA. Stanislaus' coaching staff and administration did a wonderful job of creating and managing a great event on Saturday. The course was an exact 2k loop that allowed spectators nearly full view of the action, while also providing a very fair and scenic venue for those fortunate enough to be competing. With timing mats at the 2k mark/finish it has been fun to review lap splits to see how progress was made in each race. Please follow below for a blow by blow account of each race.

Women's 6k Championship: On September 15 our women opened their season with a disappointing effort at the Riverside Invitational, placing 13th in a DI heavy field, but most notably losing by 90 points to CCAA rival Cal State San Marcos. A quick post race huddle ensued and the gist of the post race talk was to highlight that we HAD to improve drastically if we wanted to have any chance at winning a conference title the next month. The message was heard loud and clear a and we all knew that improvements had to be made and that there was a lot of work to be done. Each race since has been an improved effort and Saturday was certainly our best run yet.

From studying the season's results Chico senior Hannah Dorman (8th in 2016 CCAA champs) looked to be the clear favorite after a solid fall where she hadn't lost to a DII competitor yet. San Marcos' top pair Natalie Rodriguez (4th in '16) and Lisa Flora (sub 21 6k at Riverside) might have been her biggest challengers on paper. The plan for Dorman was to run with the lead group/person until the final 2k loop, and then make a decisive move as it seemed to present itself. At the same time Chico's #2 Alex Burkhart who has progressed nicely throughout the season would hopefully try to break up the San Marcos pair. From there it was hoped that our women could out duel San Marcos head to head through their fifth runner.

As the race began, things went much as they usually do for the Wildcat women, who generally do a masterful job of Not biting on a pace that isn't sustainable, while also putting themselves into positions needed for an eventual positive outcome. While Dorman and Burkhart operated at the front of a large pack by 1k, the rest of the 'Cats were scattered through the next 50 runners. At the 2k checkpoint and with 2 laps remaining Dorman and Burkhart crossed the line with 4 others all running within 1 second. The field scattered from there and in looking at the timing company's post race results, San Marcos had the lead with 67 points, to Chico's 76. Thankfully there was an important 4k of racing left to be run.

One of the aces in the sleeve for our women on Saturday was the seasonal debut of Karlie Garcia who hadn't raced since the 2016 NCAA XC Championships. Injury had undercut her entire track season, as well as the good majority of the past summer's training. Although she isn't in her top shape yet, Karlie has enjoyed some consistent running, as well as two workouts with the group. At 2k Garcia ran just inside the top-20 overall, but would charge forward with each passing kilometer.

Wedged between our pair up front and the hard charging Garcia was RS frosh Alexandria Tucker, who has looked amazingly well in most workouts, and was now putting together her best race yet as a Wildcat. Not far behind Garcia at the 2k checkpoint were four more 'Cats (Haley Boynton, Haley Kroll, Nora Pizzella, and Kayden Carpenter) who ran among the top 30-35 with 2 laps remaining.

Collectively the 'Cats did a solid job in the second lap of sustaining their paces, while many others around them slowed. As the race moved to the bell lap, the 'Cats opening circuit 9 point deficit to San Marcos was now a 26 point lead. Leading the way for the 'Cats was Hannah Dorman, who's negative split second lap had pulled her 2 seconds clear from Rodriguez, and now the senior set sail for the final lap chasing the lead bike, and her first individual CCAA XC title. Teammate Alex Burkhart ran in 3rd position with Pomona's Lorraine Fernandez and San Marcos' Lisa Flora on her heels. Karlie Garcia had moved into 7th position by the bell, while her frosh teammate Alex Tucker operated in 11th. Nora Pizzella ran in 20th, Haley Kroll-23rd, and Haley Boynton-25th at 4k.

Hannah Dorman clipped off her fastest lap yet while in essence running a victory lap over the final 2k, crossing the finish in 20:51. Rodriguez would hold on for second place. Pomona's Fernandez would gap Burkhart over the final kilometer en-route to her 3rd place finish, while the gritty senior from Chico held off a hard charging Flora from San Marcos for 4th place. Karlie Garcia would maintain her placing over the final lap while taking 7th place. Closing well and earning her first CCAA Top-10 finish was Alex Tucker, who's performance would earn her the "Newcomer of the Year" award at the post race ceremony. Stanislaus' #1 Cynthia Mejia would outsprint Chico's Pizzella for the final All CCAA spot, but the 16th place finish by Pizella was more than enough to seal the 'Cats 10th straight victory. In fact Haley Kroll (19th), Haley Boynton (22nd) and Kayden Carpenter (23rd) would each finish ahead of San Marcos' #4 and 5 runners. The final deficit between the 'Cats and San Marcos ended up at 41 points as the 'Cats would win with 37 points to San Marcos' 78.

Hannah Dorman becomes the 'Cats 7th individual women's champion with the win. With their 14th title in 16 years, the 'Cats women became the winningest women's program in CCAA history, passing Cal Poly SLO's 13 titles earned between '81-'93. Overall it was a great run for the Chico women and certainly just the springboard that they will need to tackle what will be the toughest West regional championship to date in two weeks.

Men's Championship 8k: The Chico men stepped to the line as clear favorites to earn their 16th straight CCAA title, but much respect had to be given to the Pomona squad who had finished 2nd to the 'Cats in the Capital Cross Challenge several weeks previous in Sacramento. Pomona has been led by All American Ruben Dominguez who has 14:04 5k track credentials and a host of other top accomplishments, including a 3rd place finish overall at the Capital Cross race. Pomona also had nothing to lose having finished 2nd to the 'Cats in these championships a good number of the past 10 years. The Chico men prepared for a hard fought effort, but also with the goal of putting as many of their top-10 into the All CCAA (top-15) line-up as possible.

As expected Pomona's top runners jumped to the front of the race and pressed the pace, in an effort to disrupt the 'Cats focus, and of course to make the race as tough as possible. Early leader Oscar Soto didn't last too long at the front, as by 2k Christian Rodriguez and Ruben Dominguez led Chico's Kyle Medina and Connor Fisher through the first checkpoint in under 24:00 pace. The rest of the 'Cats were positioned nicely and awaiting the meat of the race ahead. In looking at the 2k scoring the 'Cats held a firm lead with 27 points, ahead of Pomona's 42. One stat that stands out in looking at the 2k standings is that 9 of the 10 'Cats in the race improved their place between 2k and the eventual finish 6k later.

Just as with the women's run, the men did a solid job of executing in the middle of the race and the 'Cats who ran the first 2k near one another formed packs that ended up sticking for the good majority of the run. While Medina and Fisher looked very relaxed running on the heels of the Pomona pair at the front, teammates Jack Johnson, Eddie King, Arturo Arevalo, Teddy Kassa, and Caton Avilla all ran together through the heart of the race, looking strong and composed.

Approaching the 6k point (completion of lap 3) Medina and Fisher could sense that the Pomona pair were tiring, and a surge was made. By the bell, Medina controlled the front, while Fisher ran several seconds back in 2nd. Dominguez was now in 3rd and Rodriguez was reeling and now vulnerable to the chase pack behind.

Just as the final lap of the women's race was a glorified victory lap for Dorman, such was the case for Medina and the Chico men as well. Medina would sail to an easy victory in a swift 24:16 with Fisher finishing 2nd (for the second straight year). The 'Cats 3,4,5,6 runners Teddy Kassa, Jack Johnson, Eddie King and Caton Avilla would all finish within 1 second in 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th places. Despite unravelling a bit over the final 2k Arturo Arevalo would hold on nicely for 10th (his 3rd straight CCAA top-10 run). The 'Cats 8th finisher on the day was RS frosh Wyatt Baxter who employed quite a kick to nail down 11th place and his first All CCAA honor. Fellow RS frosh Remington Breeze would grab the final All CCAA spot with his 15th place run. Daniel Harrigan-Cota would conclude the 'Cats day while finishing 18th overall (and ahead of every other team's #3).

Given that Pomona had enjoyed a top-10 NCAA ranking prior to the race, the 18 point winning tally was a pleasant surprise for the 'Cats and the coaching staff. A total made more impressive by the fact that only 3 of the 'Cats 10 men who competed, ran in the 2016 CCAA championships.

As mentioned previously Kyle Medina becomes the 10th straight 'Cat to win the overall title dating back to Scott Bauhs' win in '08. Medina is also the 14th 'Cat to win the individual crown in the past 17 editions of the CCAA Championships. The men's 16th straight victory adds to their conference record of most consecutive championship wins regardless of sport as well. The 2017 team, with a lot of new faces, is certainly creating it's own identity with each passing race.

Up Next: the 'Cats will head north to Monmouth, OR in two weeks (Sat Nov. 4) for the DII West regionals. The top 3 at the regionals will earn automatic spots to the NCAA Championships two weeks later in Evansville, IN. The Wildcat men will go into the regional as the top-ranked squad, with Cal Baptist ranked #2. The Chico women will most likely enter the regional ranked #2 or 3 behind a Cal Baptist women's team that is currently ranked #1 in the NCAA.