PITTSBURGH, PA -- Having returned from the 2018 NCAA Championships I'm proud to share that both of our Wildcat cross country squads have once again finished their seasons with Top-10 finishes on the biggest stage. Neither race was our best of the year, but both were hard fought affairs that saw the Chico runners fight to the very end despite facing adversity and very challenging conditions. The Chico men would finish 7th overall giving them 19 Top-10 NCAA finishes in the past 20 years. The women would finish 8th, thus earning their 17th Top-10 NCAA run in 19 tries. Although both squads had hoped for Top-5 runs, yours truly is extremely proud of this team and their efforts this season and on Saturday. I can't emphasize enough that this is a very special group of young men and women, as they do a wonderful job of representing our community and university on the biggest stages.
Before diving into the race recaps I feel as though I should share a few items that made our NCAA challenge a bit bigger than we'd hoped going in. First we had some sickness and injuries that set us back between regionals and NCAA's. Luis Ortega (5th at CCAA's and 14th in West Regional) aggravated a tendon during the regional race and eventually had to be pulled from our NCAA roster and replaced by RS Frosh Jhvahn Holston. Usual #2 Alexandria Tucker strained her hamstring in the regional race and struggled to hold on to a top-20 finish there. Although the bum leg had improved in the window leading into NCAA's, the mucky, slippery surface in PA quickly re-aggravated the strain. Regional champion Eddie King (who has been amazingly consistent all season) came down with a sickness on Tuesday before the race and although his health was trending for the better by race day, King was obviously well off his game due to the illness. Kayden Carpenter had also picked up the bug the week of NCAA's and just as King the consistent scorer for the Lady-Cats struggled to run at her usual level on Saturday.
The added challenge that Everyone who raced on Saturday faced was a course that should not have been used to host an NCAA Championship event. In my 25 years of coaching at NCAA Championship races I've never seen such a dangerous and difficult layout. In an effort to keep all competition sites for the NCAA Championship Festival within the city limits, the NCAA completely threw championship course requirements out the window. Start boxes were barely wide enough for 2 athletes from each school to be on the front line, so your seventh runner was 4 layers deep behind the line. The initial 600 meters of racing was what I would call a tricky gauntlet, and by far the most dangerous stretch that I've ever witnessed on a race course, let alone an NCAA course. Basically, after the initial 150 meters the course narrowed and dropped down a steep and muddy descent. At around 300 meters athletes were forced to manage a pretty hard left turn (while still descending) before reaching a downhill stretch where athletes would run along side a slippery hillside (while still descending).
Having received a fair amount of rainfall and snow in the weeks leading up to the race the entire track was a slippery/muddy mess, and a new storm would hit just before the start of the women's race, adding to the difficulty and danger for the ladies.
Both races included falls on the opening stretch that resulted in calls back to the line.. and both races included tougher falls on the treacherous opening descent, including a bad crash of top ranked Mine's #1 man who summersaulted down the steep downhill as he led the race, only to be fallen-over and spiked before getting back on his feet and continuing on in the race. He would end up in a boot and on crutches after the race. To have success on Saturday you needed some luck, and it certainly helped to have a background in running on muddy/uneven surfaces.
With the stage now set we'll move to the races.
Men's Championship 10k:
In our pre-race meeting yours truly emphasized to the group that the start would be crucial, and that establishing good positioning early would pay dividends later in the run, given that it's hard to chase people down on a narrow, crowded and slippery course. Of course, establishing positioning early, required a number of things, including luck, fearlessness, and some good balance.
The Chico men had a so-so start, as the first checkpoint found Jack Johnson leading the 'Cats in 32nd place. The remaining 6 'Cats ran between Johnson and 182nd place (260+ in the race). Given that the first checkpoint was only 700m into the 10k run, this was certainly no time to panic. . but there was a lot of work to be done by the 'Cats.
The Chico crew did go to work as real time scoring had the 'Cats at 9th overall in the early going, but in 5th by the 3k mark. Jack Johnson had fallen a few places, but teammate Eddie King ran close, as did Jhvahn Holston, and Teddy Kassa. Moving up nicely after crossing the 700m mat in the low 100's was Wyatt Baxter. Jason Intravia had an awful start (182nd at 700m) but passed 69 runners over the next kilometer of racing (all uphill). In hindsight this big surge may have been a bit too much at once.
As the race evolved the Chico men trended in various directions among the field, but all fought very hard for every place they could. It was obvious that King's sickness was affecting him as he struggled to run among the top quarter to third of the field despite being ranked among the top-10-20 overall by many. RS frosh Jack Emanuel appeared off his game as well as he lost 30+ places in a single 2k loop. Thankfully Teddy Kassa and Jhavahn Holston were battling among the top-50 overall and Wyatt Baxter was still moving through the top third of the field with each kilometer covered.
With one loop remaining Top-'Cats Teddy Kassa, Jhvahn Holston and Wyatt Baxter ran in 38th, 44th and 46th positions. Of note is the fact that a Top-40 finish earns one All American status, so the 'Cats had 3 in the mix for this honor with 6+ minutes of running left. Eddie King ran in 69th and Jason Intravia was now 88th. Jack Johnson had picked up a bad side stitch just beyond 5k and had slid 60-70 positions in one 3k stretch.
The final 2k was relatively good to the 'Cats as the 5 scorers managed to lop off 9 team points from their team score. Thankfully most of these points came from our front trio who all moved into and maintained All American spots over the final revolution. Teddy Kassa held on well and closed strong to nail down a 37th place finish. Wyatt Baxter passed 6 key athletes to gain a 39th place finish, and Jhavahn would pass 4 to earn his first All American honor. An exhausted Eddie King would lose several places, but held on well enough to keep the Wildcat men well inside the Top-7 for scoring, while Jason Intravaia would do the same while placing 85th. Jack Johnson and Jack Emanuel would hold on to 125th and 126th place finishes, capping the 'Cats final race of the year.
Although the 7th place finish wasn't what we'd hoped for, there was no denying that all had put their very best foot forward, and despite some adversity, managed to salvage a pretty solid day out of it. Three 'Cats had earned All American including a frosh and a sophomore. There is no doubt that we'll have a very hungry and talented group representing us at next year's NCAA Championships in SACRAMENTO!
Women's 6k Championship:
As is usually the case the Chico women didn't enjoy an exceptional start stretch and despite trying to put themselves into a good position from the gun, the women ran in 32nd (Alex Tucker), 89th (Des Jones), 134th (Kayden Carpenter), 136th (Nora Pizzella), 144th (Karlie Garcia), and 237th (Talia Swangler) at the 700m checkpoint. The start stretch had them in 14th place as a team, but of course plenty of course remained between them and the finish, including 3 trips up a very hilly section of the course.
The first circuit of the big hill saw solid forward movement in the field by the Chico women. Karlie Garcia would pass nearly 70 runners over the second kilometer of the race, while Talia Swangler would pass nearly 60. All seven Chico women moved forward in the field helping the team to an 11th place standing after the first circuit of the 2k loop.
In the kilometer between the 2k marker and the mid race point, the 'Cats lopped another 60+ points from their total score, and now ran in 10th position overall. The only Chico runner who wasn't moving forward through the field was Alex Tucker, who struggled to push off with the strained hamstring muscle.
The next kilometer brought more positive movement as the 'Cats now ran in 9th place overall with just 1 loop of the course remaining. Making the most progress of any of the 'Cats was Paradise native Talia Swangler. Despite a Very rough several weeks leading up to the NCAA trip Swangler managed to pass 70 women in the second lap of the course and now ran in 114th with a lap remaining.
Just as they had the entire race the Chico women fought hard and collectively moved up another team place over the final circuit of the Bob O'Connor golf course. Leading the charge at the front for the 'Cats was junior Nora Pizzella who closed very well up the final hills to nab 52nd place overall. Following just 14 seconds back was teammate Desirae Jones (also a junior) who would finish 63rd in her NCAA debut. Karlie Garcia lost a few places in the final sprint, but held on tight to a 75th place finish. Passing an incredible 30 more women in the final loop was Talia Swangler, who hit the line 84th overall and the 4th Wildcat scorer. Despite not being 100 percent Kayden Carpenter managed to hold on to a 96th place finish, capping the 'Cats scoring efforts on the day. Haley Boynton would finish 103rd, while Alex Tucker would end the 'Cats day finishing 128th.
Just as with the men's race, things didn't end quite as well as the women had hoped, But they too had done their absolute best and still managed to beat their pre-race ranking (9th) while defeating Simon Fraser (who had beaten us at Regionals). The conditions of the course didn't align well with our strengths, but another Top-10 NCAA finish is something that athletes and coaches are quite proud of. Also, looking to next year's NCAA meet in Sacramento, the 'Cats return 6 of these 7 women giving Wildcat faithful a lot to be excited about as we look ahead.
Thanks to all for your support through what has been an awesome fall season. We look forward to the upcoming track season and of course to the 2019 NCAA XC Championships coming to Northern California. Mark your calendars! Happy Holidays!
