FERNDALE, WA - Through the years the Chico State cross country teams have enjoyed some successful and Long northwest road trips. There was the year (2006) that the crew drove to Seattle and defeated University of Washington in their own invitational. That same year our men's B team Won the DII race. Since that 2006 adventure, the 'Cats have extended their trips to the greater Bellingham area (less than 30min south of the Canadian border). Thankfully the success has continued, as the both men's and women's teams have gathered wins and top placings at Western Washington's Bill Roe Invite in the past 15+ years. Of course, the wins and placings are just a part of the story, as lifelong memories are created as we spend time in Portland, Eugene, and of course Bellingham en-route and on the way home from the races.

This year the Wildcat teams enjoyed first and second place finishes at WWU's home invite, with the men taking the title in convincing fashion, and the women finishing just behind the defending regional champ hosts. Overall it was another epic roadie with lifelong memories being forged.

Men's 8K:

Before diving into the race results I'll quickly paint a picture of what the 'Cats were up against at this year's Bill Roe invite. From the top, this year's course was a new one to us. In the past we've raced at Lake Padden Park, and at Sudden Valley golf course (both beautiful settings). This year WWU coaches moved the competition even further north, to a park in the small town of Ferndale. If we'd have stayed on I-5 another 15-20 minutes, we'd have crossed into Canada! One of the fun side-notes of this venue was that Chico State senior Jaclyn Denham grew up just a mile from the course, and her parents (Jon and Jamie) hosted the team for dinner the evening before the competitions. Getting back to the race, the course was a flat 2k loop circuit with a mix of lumpy grass and hard packed dirt/gravel paths. The unremarkable route was at least partly made up for by the views of nearby Mt Baker, and a beautiful red barn that sat within each loop of the course.

The Chico men established themselves well among the front of the field from the gun. Today's race would be an interesting match-up between the top two ranked teams in the region (Chico-#1, WWU-#2). Both squads were down a man as we travelled without sophomore standout Mario Giannini, and the Vikings were down 14-teens 5k man Ryan Clough. We'll call it a "push" since both are very good runners. Also playing a role in the outcome of the race would be the presence of some top club athletes, like Tom Anderson, a British athlete who competes for Club Northwest, and has 7:49/13:28 track PB's to his name.

Tom Anderson wasted no time in establishing himself as the favorite for another Bill Roe title, as he led the field through the first 2k loop. WWU's 13:50 5k guy Kevin McDermott followed several strides behind, with Chico's CCAA champ Dylan White running on his heels. A large lead pack followed, and if things were scored at 2k it was most likely a dead heat between the 'Cats and the Vikings.

The final three laps saw Anderson establish an insurmountable lead, and now it was a race for second, and of course the team title. On the team front, the 'Cats did some great work in the second lap with Damian Garcia moving from a chase-pack and into the main group. Daniel Hernandez has dealt with IT band issues most of this season, but you'd have had a hard time knowing it while watching him race on Saturday. In lap 3 Hernandez joined White and McDermott in the chase of Anderson. Also doing great work was Matthew Gordon, who led the main group that trailed White, Daniel and McDermott. With a lap to go, the 'Cats would have to implode to Not get the team win.

The last lap brought mostly forward progress for the Chico men, as Dylan White would win the battle for second, putting some distance into McDermott in the final mile of the run. Dylan would cross the finish in a speedy 24:02. Matthew Gordon and Hunter Dougherty would finish very strong as the 'Cats 2-3 finishers in 24:11/24:12 in 4th and 7th places. Hernandez gave up some spots over the final loop, but held on for a 10th place finish (24:17). Enjoying his best race to date was Junior Travis Selby who ended the 'Cats scoring with a massive negative splitted 12th place run (24:22). RS frosh Devin Pereira would finish 20th while dealing with some posterior tibialis issues along the way. Senior Brayden McLaughlin would finish next for the 'Cats in his return to racing. Brayden was our top finisher at NCAA's a year ago and of course raced at the NCAA track championships in the spring. Unfortunately he was dealing with a stress fracture at the end of the track season, and missed the entire summer of running while healing from said injury. Bray is back running full volumes and workouts, so we're hopeful and optimistic that he'll be where we need him by season's end.

Overall there was a lot to be grateful for in looking over the results. Despite the road-weary legs, the 'Cats were able to notch a very convincing win over the second ranked team in the region. Not scoring for Chico on the day were two of our top-4 returners. With good health and a solid progression into the championships this group should be a formidable threat in championship season.

Women's 6K:

The Chico women went into the weekend undefeated on the season, having won Stanislaus' Kim Duyst meet 2 weeks prior, but our 1:20 gap between 2-3 runners was concerning to this coach as we looked ahead to tougher competitions. Western Washington's women went into the weekend as the top-ranked team in the region, with the 'Cats ranked #2. Personally I think Biola should be ranked at the top, but I don't do the rankings. Either way, the Chico ladies would have a test in the hometown Vikings, who lack a big low-stick, but enjoy quality depth and a solid 1-7 split. If we were to challenge WWU on Saturday it would take an improved run from our pack.

With some very talented women among the field, the pace from the start was quite brisk. The twins (Della and Iresh) placed themselves among a very talented lead group. Here's what the twins were up against at the front end of this race.. UA Fairbanks' due of Kendall Kramer and Rosie Fordham have run six NCAA West Region Championships between them.. Neither has finished worse than 6th in those regional championship runs. Kramer is the defending regional champion. Trinity Western's top gal Constance Nankivel is a very talented Scottish runner who is undefeated on the season. Club Northwest' Erin Wagner was a standout runner for U of Wisconsin in college and is a top club runner in the PNW. Finally Seattle Pacific's Anika Esvelt is the defending NCAA (DII) NCAA runner-up in the 10k, and holds a 16:18 5k PB. This was a very stout group at the front.

At the conclusion of the first of three loops the twins ran in 6th/7th places on the heels of SPU standout Esvelt. Alaska Fairbanks' #2 runner Kramer was just a few strides ahead. Great news for the 'Cats was the sight of Marbella Flores running just 7 seconds off the twins at 2k, locked into a battle with WWU's top-3 runners, who ran as a pack. WWU jerseys took many of the spots between 10th-20th, and the remainder of Chico scorers had some work to do if we were to challenge the Vikings. At 2k the Chico women ran in 3rd place in the team scoring, slotting behind WWU and Fairbanks.

Thankfully the Chico pack did some solid work in the second and third loops. While the twins battled among the lead group, eventually dropping Esvelt. Marbella held on tight to WWU's top group. Sophie Pelletier spent the final two loops catching and passing WWU runners with each kilometer covered. Sienna Bianchi and Jasmine Fletcher spent much of the race working together inside the Top-30 of the race, chasing the WWU blue uniforms ahead.

At the conclusion of 3 loops the twins began our scoring with 5th and 6th place finishes (Iresh finishing just 2 seconds in front of her BFF). Thirty-eight seconds expired before WWU's first runner crossed the line, but unfortunately for us, only a few scoring athletes would finish within this gap, meaning the 'Cats hadn't tacked on many places to WWU with their two low sticks. WWU would pour 4 runners across the line before Marbella hit the tape in 15th place. Sophie Pelletier enjoyed her best outing to date, narrowly losing a sprint to WWU's #6, while finishing 18th. Three additional Vikings would reach the line before Sienna Bianchi ended our scoring with her 26th place run. True frosh Kaya Scuba enjoyed a solid uniform debut as the 'Cats #6, hitting the tape just 9 seconds behind Bianchi.

As the dust had settled the home team had earned a narrow 3 point win over the 'Cats. The Vikings depth won the day, but it was certainly a close one. It will be our goal this season to continue to cut the gap between our two All Americans at the front, and the remainder of our roster. If this can be achieved, we can and should be a dangerous squad by championship season.

Next Up: Charger Invitational- Huntsville, AL: Top-7 men and women will venture to Alabama next week to tackle some out of region competition in an attempt to strengthen our NCAA qualifying chances, if we should need an at large spot to qualify later in the season.

SF Invite: The remainder of our rosters will head to Golden Gate Park to take aim at CCAA and West regional foe. This will be a great opportunity for our developing athletes to score as teams against "A" teams from other schools.