San Francisco, CA - We're BAAACK! After 550 days of no competitions for the Chico Wildcats, I can't express just how sweet it was to send the teams to the line on Friday afternoon at San Francisco State's home invite in Golden Gate Park. Smokeless air, competition from across the state and region, and uniforms to don. Nothing was overlooked on Friday as it was all such an amazing opportunity just to be racing again after all our athletes have been through these past 18 months. After such a long layoff and knowing that most of the rest of the NCAA had trained and competed together throughout the last track season (without us) I honestly wasn't too sure what to expect going into this season. Friday's results (1st for men and 2nd for women) were such a welcomed surprise. We have a long road ahead this season to re-peat as CCAA Champs, and to get ourselves back among the top of the NCAA, but from what I saw Saturday, I'm optimistic about our chances. Please follow along below to read about how things went down on Friday.
Women's 6,000m:
The Covid break REALLY hammered our women's roster in a big way. CCAA Champion (as a true frosh) Destiny Everett has transferred to BYU. We had several others who were developing well and emerging during the 2019 season (All CCAA types) who graduated and have moved on, leaving their final years of eligibility on the table. Several others decided not to pursue the sport any longer. Two weeks ago when I updated our women's roster from the most recent season, I deleted 22 of 27 names. Thankfully we did have large recruiting classes the past 2 years, including 11 new freshmen who've joined us this fall. The key to our success this fall will be just how well we can develop a Very young and inexperienced group of women in 3 short months. Only time will tell, but it promises to be a fun challenge and journey.
As the gun sounded, the Chico women established solid early race positions but let others be the over-zealous ones sprinting for pole position. Running the same layout that we have in past championships, including 2015 CCAA meet, and earlier regional champs, the Chico ladies knew there was plenty of room to move as they circled the wide dirt path that circles the SF Polo field. By the mile mark JC transfer Hannah Ryan (making her Chico debut) ran at the front of a fairly large lead pack. The remainder of the Chico top-7-10 were positioned well, not far behind their teammate ahead.
After the initial loop of the polo field, the women's course is basically the same 2k loop repeated twice, and then the finish stretch up Speedway meadow. By the end of the first 2k loop the lead pack had whittled down to around 8-10 runners and Hannah Ryan was still running side by side with the race leaders. Hannah had transferred to Chico as a sophomore from SF City college in the spring of 2020 and had only 6 weeks of training with us, before Covid shut us all down. During that window she was working hard, but was certainly not among our top 7-10 on the roster at the time. Thankfully Ryan has trained very diligently during the Covid break, and Friday was her opportunity to finally shine, and show off this well-earned fitness.
We had a very nice group of 3 running together among the top 15 by 4k and our #5 true frosh Jaclyn Denham was just a few strides behind. At this point of the race, regional rival Simon Fraser (ranked 2nd in the West currently) had two in the front pack, and 2 running just off the heels of our 3 that were just behind. If we could close well as a group we could potentially tip the cart on the Canadians and take home the title.
Unfortunately the win wasn't quite in the cards for the 'Cats on this day as Ryan fell back to our chase group, but did a great job of Not letting them pass her by. At the same time Simon Fraser's 3-4 runners found their way past our pack, putting them firmly in control of the race. The Chico women did some good work over the final loop, holding places and keeping the pack tight. A quick final sprint from true frosh Hannah Wirth (Del Oro HS) gave her a 10th place finish and made her the first 'Cat to cross the line on the day. Junior Katie Hawley would finish just a few seconds behind in 11th, and Ryan would cross in 12th.Gracie Dupuis (So) lost a sprint with Cal State East Bay's top woman but finished 14th. Previously mentioned Jaclyn Denham (a Washington native) iced the 2nd place finish with her 18th place run (22:40 6k time). Junior transfer Marissa D'Atri would cross the line 22nd with true frosh Paulina Guerrero rounding out the top 7 with a respectable 23:07 6k debut.
In looking a bit more closely at the numbers, there is a fair amount of promise with this group. From the top a :20 1-5 is a nice grouping, as is a :45 1-7, and a 1 minute 1-9. The other factor that gives me hope as we look ahead with this team is that it's a very young and inexperienced group. There is a LOT of fitness to be gained if we can stay healthy and hungry.
It should also be noted that two true frosh locals, Abbey Lair (Red Bluff HS) and Grace Gaddy (U-Prep-Redding) both ran unattached, and finished among the top-50 overall. These two will certainly be ones to watch in the coming months and years.
Men's 8,000m: :
Had we not run our annual 5 mile time trial in Bidwell Park last week I would have been pretty shocked with Friday's men's result. After a traditionally controlled start in our TT a week ago, 6 guys ran between 24:39-25:00 and a host of others came across in the low 25 min range. None were the 3 top returners that we had coming back from the 2019 squad that placed 3rd at NCAA's! 2 X All American Wyatt Baxter has been battling an injury since March and is just returning to running. Fellow All American Jack Emanuel didn't have a great Covid break training-wise, and is trying to whip himself back into shape. Rory Abberton (our #4 at NCAA's in 2019) also didn't have a great training window in the past year. Also, 2 of our top-6 from last week's TT would be held out this week, as one battled strep throat, and the other, a minor foot setback (he managed an abbreviated LR today so he should be good).. With all of that being put out there, the Chico men still managed to crush the field in Friday's seasonal debut.
Before the race the guys were reminded that we didn't need to win the first 2k loop (Or the second!).. but we DID want to own the third (and final). Heeding this advice the guys crowded the front spots among a sizeable chase group that allowed two unattached athletes to sail away to an early lead. As the race developed the Chico men did a great job of working with one another and throughout the run owned most of the spots among the chase pack.
As the race developed into the second half, the chase pack had caught all but one athlete (former DI NCAA qualifier Jose Pina), and the pack had splintered into sub groups. Leading the first 3-man chase pack were Senior Matt Herrera, and Frosh Brayden McLaughlin (making his Chico debut). Also running strong was Simon Fraser's #1 guy Aaron Ahl (who I later learned is a 3:42 1500m man!).
Following just behind this trio were a pair of Chico frosh Omar Alvarez-Hernandez (Maria Carrillo HS) and Daniel Hernandez (Vacaville HS). Just behind this pair was another duo of 'Cats Charlie Giannini (Chico HS), and Dylan White a sophomore from Clayton Valley.
The final lap brought a surge in pace at the front as McLaughlin and Ahl worked to catch and pass race leader Pina. Herrera had picked up a side stitch that limited his ability to follow this move closely, but he still held on for a solid finish. Over the final kilometer of the run Ahl was just too strong and fast, pulling away to the eventual win in 24:30. McLaughlin held on nicely for second with a solid 24:37 uniform debut. Pina would take 3rd after leading 90 percent of the run. Next across was Alvarez-Hernandez in 4th, then Giannini and Herrera in 6th and 7th. Daniel Hernandez would finish the 'Cats scoring day with an impressive 9th place finish. Anyone who follows the sport of XC knows that depth is crucial, and Dylan White's 10th, and Joshua O'Neill's 12th place finishes gave the 'Cats 7 of the top-12 on the day. Again, all of this was done without 2 of our Top-6 finishers in last week's time trial.
Next up: The 'Cats will hit the road to San Diego, as San Marcos hosts the CCAA preview on Saturday Sept. 25.
