Monmouth, OR -- I'm proud to announce that for the 21st straight season the Chico State Wildcats will send 2 full teams to the NCAA Championships. On Saturday both teams punched their tickets to the big dance with 1st (Men) and 3rd (women) place finishes at the West Regional Championships, which were hosted by Western Oregon University in Monmouth. Speaking of Oregon, both races had their share of classic Oregon winter weather with whipping winds, sideways rain, and a very muddy course. Thankfully the Non-California-like conditions didn't seem to affect the 'Cats, as both squads backed up their pre-regional rankings, while grabbing the coveted tickets into NCAA's. The fact that the 'Cats had only 3 of 14 athletes competing this weekend w/ regional experience can't be overlooked either. Now sights will be set on the upcoming NCAA Championships to be held on the Abbey Golf Course in St. Leo, Florida.. also the site of the 2016 Championships, where both Wildcat squads earned 4th place trophies. Onward to Saturday's races.

We'll start with the women's race since the ladies kicked off the action first.

Women's 6k Championship:

As mentioned above, the Chico women went into the championships ranked 3rd, and only 3 teams would gain automatic spots to the NCAA meet. Simon Fraser had defeated the 'Cats fairly handily at two of our regular season meets, and Stanislaus' CCAA victory showed that they would be tough to beat at the regional. In looking at the regional landscape outside of those teams, three teams seemed to be potential threats to the 'Cats. Academy of the Arts, and Biola had taken 1-2 in the Pac West meet with Arts taking a 1 point decision. Both appeared to be legitimate threats to the 'Cats, as well as CCAA foe San Marcos, who'd taken 3rd at the conference meet two weeks previous. At CCAA's our top 3 (Gracie Dupuis, Hannah Ryan, and Marissa D'Atri) ran exceptionally well and yours truly knew that it was unlikely that all three would enjoy the same day at the regional. This meant that if we were to fend off Biola, Arts and San Marcos, we'd need a better day from our supporting crew. Thankfully this would be the case as Katie Hawley would finish with a better place at regionals than she had at CCAA's, and true frosh Hannah Wirth almost managed the same feat as the 'Cats 5th.

The Ash Creek Preserve course lies on a massive field area that's adjacent to the Western Oregon campus. The area is a mostly flat, wide open (w/ no trees) and has been the host site for the Pac 12 Championships as well as at least 4 other West Regional events. The wide open landscape invited the prevailing South winds to play a massive role in the tactics on the day. The best way to describe the Ash Creek route is to draw up a giant rectangle and to place a line down the middle of it. The long stretches of the rectangle run North to South, and the short ends are East/West. The start of the race runs from the South end of the rectangle, and heads directly North along the middle line of the rectangle, then loops left (west) for a few meters before turning left and to the South, into a biting head-wind. Subsequent loops generally either veer left or right from the initial start stretch with each loop coming back to the start area. For the most part each full loop is roughly 1500m, so the women's 6k was a 4 circuit event, while the men's 10k was a 6 looper.

The Chico women got out relatively well, but I would be lying if I didn't admit a bit of anxiety in the early going, as we had only 1 runner among a sizeable lead group after the initial loop. In fact the chip mat after 1 loop reported the 'Cats to be in 5th place, and just a few points ahead of host school Western Oregon. Thankfully it was a 4 loop run and there was plenty of tough racing to be had.

Spearheading the charge for the 'Cats throughout, was Junior Marissa D'Atri, who's looked very strong in recent workouts and appears to be coming into her own this championship season. Gracie Dupuis, Katie Hawley and Hannah Ryan all ran together in cluster of athletes that seemed to be operating in the 20's overall. A trio of true frosh (Hannah Wirth, Jaclyn Denham, and Paulina Guerrero) would have to produce our final scorer and Wirth appeared to be that person on this day. The Del Oro HS product was bouncing back from a rugged CCAA race that saw her finish 46th overall. Today she ran in a similar position overall, but in a much deeper field.

The second time-check found the 'Cats in 4th place and just 1 position out of an auto qualifying spot to NCAA's. The Chico women hung tough through the middle kilometers as the field continued to string out. Finally the third timing mat split reported the news that the 'Cats had moved into 3rd position, and ahead of Arts and Biola. Over the final 1.5k loop D' Atri did a great job of hanging onto the back of a leading group and eventually kicked well to a 9th place finish. Hannah Ryan and Katie Hawley battled well into the headwind and rain over the final straightaway before Hawley found her middle distance speed over the final 100m to grab a few spots before the line. Hawley would finish 20th and Ryan would hold on for a 25th place finish. With their efforts, both would join D'Atri on the All West Region team following the races. Sophomore Gracie Dupuis held on well over the final stretch to take 31st. Now the wait began for Wirth who soon appeared on the finish stretch. Although she'd given up some places in the middle kilometers of the run, Hannah rallied and re-passed 4-5 women in the final 100m to finish 51st overall. Jaclyn Denham and Paulina Guerrero would finish out the day for the 'Cats with their 63rd and 87th place finishes.

Thankfully the gritty mid race toughness that the ladies had displayed carried them to a 24 point cushion over Arts, and within 19 points of Stanislaus who ended up second (behind Simon Fraser). It wasn't our best day out there, but in some challenging conditions the women prevailed and bought themselves another NCAA opportunity. I should also mention that our entire roster returns for next year, so the experience gained this season will go a long way as we move forward from here.



Men's 10k Championship: The Chico men entered Saturday as heavy favorites despite having only 2 athletes with regional experience and having lost #3 runner Daniel Hernandez to a stubborn glute issue. The 'Cats depth is highlighted by the fact that even without Hernandez there wasn't enough room on the regional roster for Cameron Duquette who'd just finished among the top-8 overall in the recent CCAA Championships. In any event, the 'Cats primary competition would most likely come in the form of Fresno Pacific, one of the few teams that we hadn't competed against during our regular season. Fresno is led by standout Kenyan Patrick Kiprop, who's 6+ foot frame w/ long legs, makes running look incredibly easy. Fresno's usual number two (a 14:14 5k guy) Xavier Smith has enjoyed a very strong season and in my estimation could potentially take 2nd overall in the regional race. FPU's #3 Bryan Banuelos is another standout, who I'd pegged to be a top-5-10 finisher based on his season to date. Fresno's problem is the minute that usually separates their 3-4/5 runners, and all of the points that adds to their score. If the 'Cats placed a first runner in the top-5-10 and packed in well as we have all season, they should enjoy a comfortable win, even if FPU managed a 1-2 finish.

About 5 minutes before the start of the men's race the already cold, wet, and windy weather took things to another level. The winds picked up, the rain began to fall in sheets, and athletes were now second guessing the need to disrobe for the race. With the winds blowing even harder than they had for the women's race the men's would certainly be interesting to watch, given the 6 long straightaways into the headwind. The plan for the 'Cats was to get out well in the first 800m before. Making the turn, and then tuck in and be patient. This was to be repeated throughout the first half of the race, trying Not to lead the pack and waste unnecessary energy pressing into the wind.

From the outset, Kiprop served notice that he had no intentions of running a tactical race in the pack, as the tall figure loped away from the field and turned into the first headwind straight with a sizeable early advantage over the massive chase pack. Much of the early going of the race resembled a tactical bike race, with athletes unwilling to lead with any urgency into the windy stretches. The pace was honest enough to where each loop would bring some thinning of the main pack, but the real racing began in the second half of the run.

Through the first 8k the Chico men would have been hard pressed to execute a better race, as all 7 Chico men ran among the Top-20 through the initial 4-5 loops, and none had made any impatient moves. Speaking of impatient moves.. FPU's Bryan Banuelos, tired of the tactical setting, decided to make a move into the void between the chase group and his teammate ahead, and at one point enjoyed a 5-7 second lead on 3rd place. Just as with most cycling races, this early move for a hoped 1-2 finish, would prove costly.

For a good portion of the race Jack Emanuel, Charlie Giannini and Brayden McLaughlin ran among a shrinking chase pack, before Emanuel became a victim of the pace and conditions himself. By 8k Giannini and McLaughlin ran among a now select lead group, including CCAA standout Shea Vavra (the pre-race CCAA favorite who ended up 3rd). Vavra, along with the Chico guys had chilled out early (literally?), and now was pushing the pace to catch Banuelos.

While Kiprop sailed to an eventual victory, teammate Banuelos was overhauled by Vavra and several others in the final windy straightaway. As the now 6 man chase group passed by yours truly Brayden McLaughlin ran in 4th position overall and just meters behind Vavra and Alaska standout Cole Nash. Azuza's top guy came next and Giannini ran on his heels w/ Banuelos hanging on in 7th after having been passed by the entire group.

The final straight brought a furious sprint for second in which McLaughlin contested with vigor, just missing Vavra by .2 seconds for the runner-up spot. Nash would finish next, then APU's top guy. Charlie would lose a sprint to a resurgent Banuelos, but would still finish 7th in his first regional competition. Senior Matt Herrera would cross next for the 'Cats taking 12th place, with teammate Rory Abberton finishing just behind in 13th. Frosh Omar Alvarez-Hernandez would end the scoring for the 'Cats with his 15th place run, and Senior Jack Emanuel would take home his 3rd All West Region award by virtue of his 18th place finish. The lone heartbreaker for the Wildcat men on the day was the race of Dylan White. In our most recent season (2019) White was well off making our regional roster, but now he was not only on the roster, but in a spot to earn a top-20 finish. Dylan spent a good amount of the race running with his teammates in the top 15-20., but the final lap brought a massive wall that left him as the 38th finisher on the day. He'd given his best effort on the day, but the body just didn't quite back him up. Thankfully Dylan has more eligibility remaining and should have another crack at the regional race again.

With 6 finishers in before FPU's #3 the 'Cats would easily win their 16th regional title in the past 19 races. All 6 also earned All West Region honors having finished well inside the top-25 overall.

Next Up: The Wildcats will depart Chico on Wed Nov. 17 for Tampa, Florida where they'll need to do some quick time adjusting because on Saturday the 20th, they'll be racing the NCAA Championships at 5:30am (CA time). The Championships will take place on the Abbey Golf Course in St. Leo, which is adjacent to St Leo University's campus. Having run this course in the 2016 NCAA championships we know it's one of the most challenging NCAA Layouts that this coach has witnessed in some 25 trips to the national meet. The course is constantly climbing or descending with no real flat stretches for rhythm running. In 2016 the 'Cats did manage to bring home two NCAA trophies from St Leo, and just as we had in our preparations that year, we've spent a fair amount of time in the hills above Chico in preparation. (including a session in Forest Ranch today). In looking at our competition my main assessment is that the landscape of DII on the national level has changed dramatically since our 2019 race in Sacramento. The usual powerhouses are still out there in Adams State, Mines, Grand Valley, etc.. But there are a host of other programs that have taken massive leaps during the Covid window (the CCAA was the only conference not to compete in either XC or Track last school year). With this being said, the Wildcats will head to FL determined to run their best races, and to continue the proud legacy that is Chico State distance running. Control what we can control and allow the chips to fall as they may. Wish us luck, and thank you all for your support!