Fresno, CA -- I'm proud to report that the 2024 Wildcat cross country squads were able to successfully defend their CCAA titles this past Friday while running in the familiar setting of Woodward Park in Fresno, CA. The men flirted with a perfect score throughout the race, but had to settle for another 1-4 finish, with the fifth just a few spots back. The women's race held a bit more drama along the way, but the 1-2 finish by Della and Iresh Molina, coupled with strong runs by Sophie Pelletier and Jasmine Fletcher helped us get the job done.

In reflecting on another solid CCAA weekend it's hard to fathom that the Wildcats have won 40 of the 44 CCAA Championship races offered since 2002. Such a strong run of success, helped along by an incredible group of student athletes that paid their dues to help our team perform their best when it's mattered the most. The 2024 teams reflect our tradition incredibly well and their results to date certainly show that. Getting back to Friday, follow along as I break down the two races below, and consider joining us in Sacramento for the NCAA Championships on 11/23. We're training hard to put on a show on the biggest stage in front of our incredible Wildcat Family.

Men's 8k Championship: Where to start when describing the men's race. I could talk about how eventual CCAA Champion Mario Giannini was nearly unable to complete his pre-race run the day before the championships due to a balky achilles.. Or I could talk about how far off the mark I was with describing the potential dual-meet with us an Pomona (no dis on the Broncos, but they never inserted themselves in the team race).. or I could talk about how close we were to notching the CCAA's second 15 point score (which would have matched our 2013 run in Chico).. It was a classic championship race where things rarely go as scripted, but you hope that things end up with your team earning the fewest points at the end.

The race itself went out surprisingly slow, as the leaders hit the net downhill mile mark in 4:55. Chico was well represented at the front of the pack, as was San Marcos, who sat in second in the real-time scoring with 4 miles to go. Of course the second, third and fourth miles of the Woodward course are where the hills lie, and predictably this is where the cream rose to the top. By the time yours truly saw the group again Wildcats occupied the top 4 spots, as Dylan White, Daniel Hernandez, Matthew Gordon, and Brayden McLaughlin pulled a thinning lead group up the main climb on the course. Teammate Damian Garcia sat in 6th, with San Marcos' Sankalp Shastri the only athlete Not wearing the Wildcat kit running in 5th. (note that I haven't yet mentioned eventual Mario Giannini, who was well placed on the heels of the aforementioned group.

Just a mile later the 'Cats still occupied the top-4 spots, but now the race leader was Giannini. 2023 CCAA Champ Dylan White ran several strides behind in second. 2021 CCAA champ Brayden McLaughlin was a few meters back in third, and Matthew Gordon ran in 4th. Shastri from San Marcos sat in fifth, blocking a potential sweep, with Damian Garcia hot on his heels in 6th. One surprising development was that Pomona's #1 sat in 10th position overall 3 miles into the championship race. The Broncos were Not having a good day in Fresno.

With a mile to go Giannini enjoyed a comfortable lead over his nearest competitor, which of course was teammate Brayden McLaughlin, who ran several strides ahead of teammate Matthew Gordon. Damian Garcia followed in 4th, but with a host of other runners hot on his heels. The 'Cats potential perfect score would need some help here, as Pomona's top two runners had caught Garcia, and Shastri was also attached to this small group. Chico native Hunter Dougherty ran just behind in 8th, so there Was a chance of a 15 point outcome. Yours truly sprinted up to the finish to capture a potential 15 point finish.

As the leaders came into sight it was obvious that Giannini would win his first CCAA title. The red shirt Sophomore ran well ahead of McLaughlin, as the two navigated the familiar Woodward finishing stretch. Matthew Gordon's breakthrough season was affirmed on this day with his 3rd place finish, and hot on his heels was teammate Hunter Dougherty, who'd passed both Pomona runners, and Shastri in the final half-mile (for those who follow our team closely you might remember Dougherty doing the same thing a year ago, and helping to key our win over Pomona, while he placed 8th). This year his 8th place finish was replicated by teammate Damian Garcia, who finished the 'Cats scoring, while replicating our 2023 winning 18 point total. Daniel Hernandez would finish 9th, while Travis Selby would cross the line in 19th. RS frosh Sean Alliegro is one to watch, as the Mira Cost alum ran in 13th with just a mile to go, but lost some places while finishing 21st. 2023 CCAA Champ Dylan White would finish 30th after experiencing some physical setbacks during the run that affected his breathing, but he should be good in the coming weeks as we look ahead to regionals and nationals.

On a day when our defending champion finished well outside of All-CCAA, the guys had Still narrowly missed a 15 point score. This is certainly a dangerous team.



Women's 6k Championship: The women's race was red hot from the gun as Iresh and Della Molina worked together to create an honest tempo, and Sonoma's Constance O'Neal (San Jose State transfer) latched on as the trio hit the mile in 5:27. Stan's top-2 runners Jacqueline Sanchez and Annie Wild followed closely in 5:30 with Chico's Marbella Flores (who'd been sick all week leading up to the race) following in 5:32. Also out quite fast was Sophie Pelletier, the 'Cats 4th as she hit the mile within seconds of her high school PR (5:35 split). The 'Cats had a 7 point lead at the mile marker, just ahead of Stanislaus, and well ahead of a conservative starting Pomona squad (seemed to be a theme for the Broncos on the weekend).

The second mile brought the usual shuffling of places, but it wasn't all good for the 'Cats. At two miles Della Molina led Sonoma's O'Neal, and Stan's Sanchez (who'd bridged up to the pair), and Wild followed a few strides behind. Iresh Molina followed Wild up the tough climb, but was visibly dealing with a side-stitch. Yours-truly encouraged Iresh to relax and stay steady and see it through. Pelletier looked good while holding her position among the top-10, but Marbella was sliding backward having gone out too fast given the week of sickness that she'd dealt with.

After climbing up the big mid-race hill the women's course took a near 1-mile loop on a relatively flat area of the park, and the Chico women did some good work on this loop. Della slowly started to apply pressure to the pack and by the 2.5 mile chip mat she had crafted a several second lead over O'Neal and Sanchez. Perhaps the best news coming from of the outer loop was the improved form and position of Iresh Molina who had shaken the cramp and moved up to the shoulders of Stan's lead duo. Sophie followed relatively closely hitting the 2.5 marker in 9th place (again) and teammate Jasmine Fletcher now ran as the 'Cats #4 in 14th. Marbella followed in 15th, but appeared to be struggling to hold her form. Jaclyn Denham, the 'Cats 6th was a nice insurance package running in 18th, as was Sienna Bianchi who followed in 21st with 2k of racing to go. Team totals at 2.5 miles.. Chico-43, Stan-66, Pomona-71. With our #6 runner just ahead of Stan's #4 at this point, our chances of defending the title looked quite promising.

As is a Woodward Park (spectating) tradition after their athletes pass by the mile-to-go mark, everyone runs across the small "creek" and up the hill to the finish line, all the while hoping their team is executing a solid final mile of the race.

As leaders became visible in the distance, approaching the finish it seemed like all things were good again, as twins Della and Iresh Molina ran side by side, alone at the front. Predictably Della would have the stronger close while winning her first CCAA individual title. Iresh followed closely, securing a 3point combined total of team points. Annie Wild, who'd played her cards smart early, would finish third to start Stanislaus' scoring. Constance O'Neal would take 4th, with Stan's #2 Sanchez finding the finish 5th overall. Pomona's scoring would begin with team leader Vivian Martinez' sixth place run. Stanislaus would have the first #3 to cross the finish with Crystal Hernandez' seventh place effort. In my CCAA Preview I mentioned that the top of the leaderboard would have a multitude of schools represented, and San Marcos' Angela McManus' 8th place run, and Humboldt's Artana Nice (11th) would give 6 different teams at least one runner among the top-11 overall.

The 'Cats' front running, and depth would win the day as Sophie Pelletier would cross in 9th (a place she maintained throughout the race), with teammate Jasmine Fletcher earning her first All CCAA honor in 13th. Marbella Florez (18th) and Jaclyn Denham (20th) would each finish before Stan's #4 runner, thus securing the women's most recent title.

Random CCAA Musings:

*Wildcat Men have won 22 straight CCAA team titles
*Wildcat Women have won 18 of the past 22 team titles.
*A Wildcat Male has won 19 of the past 23 editions of this championship, and 15 of the past 16.
*Della Molina becomes the 10th Wildcat woman to win a CCAA title since Jen James won our first in 2004. Both are local North Section products.
*Chico HS alum accounted for half of the top 4 places between the two races as both Molinas are former Panthers, as are Mario Giannini and Hunter Dougherty.
*Senior Hannah Wirth would win the Women's Elite 13 Award, given to the athlete with the highest GPA in the field.

Lastly..
*How dominant have the Chico State men been at these championships? Well, if you score Chico vs the entire conference in each of the past 9 editions of these championships, the Wildcats win 8 of them!

2015: Chico 24, CCAA 31
2016: Chico 20, CCAA 39
2017: Chico 27, CCAA 45
2018: Chico 19, CCAA 43
2019: CCAA 23, Chico 33 (Ironically this team would go on to take 3rd at NCAA's)
2020: Cancelled-Covid
2021: Chico 25, CCAA 32
2022: Chico 20, CCAA 37
2023: Chico 18, CCAA 37
2024: Chico 18, CCAA 39

It's been quite a ride.

Next up: NCAA West Region Championships will be held in Billings, Montana on Saturday Nov. 9 9:00am (Pacific) Men's 10k Start, 10:15 (Pacific) Women's 6k Top-3 in each race qualify on to the NCAA Championships.

Save the Date: NCAA Champs 11/23/24 @ Sacramento, CA