Lindsey Brown, Kayla Silva dislodge Margaret Pridgen from the top of 800/1500 all-time lists
Women 1500 Meter Run (Fastest of Three Heats)
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Name Year School Finals Points
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1 Schmidt, Alice Adidas 4:18.82
2 Genet Arlin, Aeron Running Divas 4:21.26
3 Kipwanbok, Jacky Azusa Pacific 4:23.68
4 Mann, Ali Run L.A. 4:25.62
5 Padilla, Grace The Janes 4:25.63
6 Gaurmer, Tanya Adams State 4:27.03
7 Peterson, Natalie Concordia Elite 4:28.03
8 Silva, Kayla Chico State 4:29.32
9 Dunn, Diane UC San Diego 4:30.65
10 Canterbury, Jaime Azusa Pacific 4:30.86
11 Whelan, Natalie The Janes 4:31.46
12 Nickless, Bethany Santa Barbara 4:31.73
13 Hobson-Gery, Holly Cal Coast 4:38.74
14 Aulet-Leon, Olga Ucla 4:46.87
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| New School record Holders for 800m and 1500m Lindsey Brown (left) and Kayla Silva (right) |
The women’s 1500m is very deep this year nationally, so even with her 4:35 PR set earlier in the season, Kayla Silva sat on the bubble of the NCAA 16 heading into Saturday. A plan to give the 4:30 barrier a run for it’s money was hatched as only one Wildcat had ever broken this mark previously (Pridgen in ‘04). Silva was in a perfect heat with plenty of fast runners, so as the gun sounded she guided herself into the back half of a very talented field and hoped that the initial 400m wouldn’t be too unreasonable. Thankfully even with sub 2 min (800) runner Alice Schmidt creating the pace at the front, Silva was pulled through 1 lap in a reasonable 70 second split. 800m was hit in 2:22.0, and a 72.5 third lap put her in perfect position to break the barrier. Although her final 300m wasn’t the quickest and she was passed by Adams NCAA champ Tanya Garmer, Silva still held on to hit the tape 8th overall and with a new school record 4:29.32! Her new PR was an Automatic NCAA mark and now ranks her 4th going into the NCAA meet. Never having qualified for the NCAA track championships in her previous three years, Kayla is extremely excited to finish off her Senior year with a great run at the championships.
Men 1500 Meter Run
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Name Year School Finals Points
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Section 1
1 Rono, Aron Azusa Pacific 3:40.71
2 Juliano, David Boulder 3:43.73
3 Bayley, Tim Sports Base 3:44.37
4 Smith, Scott Unattached 3:44.45
5 Braun, Aaron Adams State 3:45.73
6 Wickman, Michael Unattached/Chico 3:46.12
7 Barnes, Ricky Run L.A. 3:47.10
8 Patterson, Marlon Ucla 3:47.77
9 Gonzalez, Sergio San Marcos 3:50.05
10 Marquez, Angel Chico State 3:50.17
11 Thatcher, Mike Run With Us 3:50.72
12 Tate, Derek Run L.A. 3:52.48
13 Cahill, Roger Run Flagstaff 3:52.67
14 Horn, Jordan Adidas 3:53.34
Section 2
1 Hacker, Colin Unattached 3:52.24
2 Bright, Landon Point Loma 3:53.75
3 Kiesz, Matt Caltech 3:54.47
4 Bhatia, Aman Irvine 3:56.24
5 Lewton, Forrest Azusa Pacific 3:57.14
6 Lopez, Gabe Santa Barbara 3:57.81
7 Mejia, Manny Chico State 3:58.36
8 Cazares, Guillermo Concordia 3:59.13
9 Hughes, Kyle San Marcos 4:00.28
10 Ardell-Smith, Zachary Unattached 4:00.66
11 Moreno, Claudio Fresno Pacific 4:03.15
12 Pfeil, John Azusa Pacific 4:04.35
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| Michael Wickman (in Red top) being beaten and loving every second of it. |
Two Wildcat men were able to acquire spots on the line in the fastest heat of the day in the men’s 1500m. Red Shirting Junior Michael Wickman and Junior Angel Marquez hoped to run PR’s for different reasons. Wickman had decided to redshirt this year to focus on developing more strength and lowering his PR’s enough to get into better heats his final two years of eligibility. Unfortunately for Michael he had yet to be placed or allowed into a heat where he wasn’t the top seeded athlete in the field. This has ended up with him winning 6 of the 7 races that he’s been entered in, and the final result has been Zero Pr’s this season. It may sound funny, but Michael was dying to be in a race where he would be beaten by a bunch of guys, knowing that this would surely result in a fast mark. Saturday was his lucky day as he would place sixth in the fastest heat of the day. Before moving on to the race I’ll talk about Angel Marquez’ situation really quick. With a converted 3:51.9 gained during his Mile effort during Bauhs’ sub 4 Marquez wanted to improve his chances of running the 1500m at nationals by lowering this mark. He would definitely have a good opportunity as well. As expected the race went out very fast. A rabbit pulled the leaders out at 57-58 seconds for the first lap. Wickman tucked in nicely at around 59 second with Marquez following closely at 60. During the second lap Wickman seemed to be marking the moves made by last year’s DII NCAA champ Aaron Braun of Adams State. Braun had run a converted 3:42.1 the week before at his conference meet at 7500ft, so Wickman wasn’t afraid to put himself on a limb of sorts today. Michael hit 800m looking very good at 2:00.1, with Marquez still following closely at 2:02.00. The third lap was more of the same as Wickman continued to mark Braun (59.88 split- 2:59.8). Marquez, never afraid to put himself in a difficult situation hit 1200m at 3:03 having run a 2:02.8 middle 800m!. Having spent a lot of energy to put themselves within reach of a fast mark, both Wickman and Marquez struggled a bit in the final 300m, but strength carried them to the line with solid Pr’s. Aaron Braun inched away from Wickman over the final 100m and Marquez ran a 46.9 for the final 3/4 revolution to seal a nice PR. After the dust had settled and the marks announced Wickman had lowered his PR from 3:49.2 to 3:46.12 and Marquez from 3:51.9 to 3:50.17! Not a bad day at the office for either!
Heat II: Frosh Manny Mejia had hoped to improve on his 3:54 PR but things just didn’t play out as he’d hoped on Saturday. A hard effort still put him under his seasonal best coming into the season, but well short of his goal for the day. The good news is that he has three more years to improve on this year’s mark.
Women 800 Meter Run
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Name Year School Finals Points
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Section 1 of 3
1 Williams, Ysanne Unattached 2:05.14
2 Rhetta, Sherron South Bay 2:06.20
3 Gildersleeve, Kim South Bay 2:07.12
4 Bournes, Gabrielle Ucla 2:11.15
5 Brown, Lindsey Chico State 2:11.84
6 McDonald, Christol South Bay 2:12.51
7 Gentile, Chris VS Athletics 2:12.55
8 Graff-Ermeling, Genevlev VS Athletics 2:12.87
9 Jones, Cobbie Ucla 2:13.06
10 Brzezinska, Anna Team Hipp 2:13.20
11 Goonetilleke, Jeanelle Concordia Elite 2:13.80
12 Munguia, Jenna Tel Monterray, M 2:17.64
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Women’s 800m: Lindsey Brown toed the line on Saturday knowing she HAD to improve her 2:12.56 in order to insure her spot at the NCAA meet next weekend. Thankfully the pressures didn’t weigh on her and she was able to execute accordingly. After a high 63 second first lap that brought her through with only one athlete behind her, Lindsey went to work in chasing the field. Although she was slowing in the second lap you’d have never known it as she blew by runners down the back stretch and while rounding the final turn of the race. Off the final turn Brown dug deep and sprinted to the line, knowing a school record and NCAA mark might be waiting. Thankfully this would indeed be the case as Lindsay’s 2:11.84 final time dipped just under Pridgen’s 2:11.95 mark and ranks her within the final 16 on the final NCAA list. Excellent work! |
Men 800 Meter Run
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Name Year School Finals Points
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Section 1
1 Miller, Neville New York 1:47.38
2 Rankin, Jon Nike 1:47.40
3 Asafo-Agyei, Raphael Trafford 1:48.04
4 Thornton, Nicholas Unattached 1:48.81
5 Lara, Nick Adams State 1:49.22
6 Emmen, Tetlo Asics 1:51.02
7 Mason, Alex West Valley 1:51.69
8 Paplanos, Peter Unattached 1:51.70
9 Rinaldi, Justin Australia 1:52.49
10 Donawa, Michael Bermuda 1:56.30
Section 2
1 Mayes, Marcus Unattached 1:50.29
2 Navarro, Heleodoro Tec 1:50.31
3 Wellman, David Unattached 1:51.56
4 Baechle, Jake Redlands 1:51.76
5 Richardson, Rocky Azusa Pacific 1:51.95
6 Mering, John Unattached 1:51.99
7 Murphy, Tim Irvine 1:52.07
8 Ortiz, Joaqin Cal Poly 1:52.27
9 Anderson, Daniel UC San Diego 1:53.46
10 Wickman, Michael Unattached 1:57.20
Section 3
1 Becijos, Ryan UC San Diego 1:56.02
2 Collins, Jon VS Athletics 1:56.03
3 Robinson, Kyle Unattached 1:56.12
4 Tamura, Evan UC San Diego 1:56.27
5 Testaye, Soloman Irvine 1:56.80
6 DeMartini, Daniel Sports Base 1:57.43
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Men’s 800m: As mentioned in last week’s CCAA e mail, a good number of talented 800m guys were red shirted this Spring in hopes of creating an amazing group that can compete well on the NCAA stage in the coming years. A few of those red shirts were competing in Oxy with David Wellman enjoying the best day of the group. Having run 1:52 for three straight years while training with our 4/8 group David finally busted through on Saturday with a 1:51.56 effort that placed him third in the second heat. Teammate Clinton Hayes who’s PR is 1:52.05 ran a half of a stride ahead of Wellman going through the bell, but fell to the track at the 450m mark of the race. Thankfully neither Clinton or anyone behind him were hurt in the mishap. Apparently a tender hamstring tightened at mid stride causing the sophomore to fall to the track very hard. With some ice and rest Clinton was up and walking within a few minutes after the race. Having just run a 3:46 1500m only 1 hour before, Wickman struggled in just finishing the 800m today. Leading the third heat for every step until the finish red shirting Kyle Robinson just missed his PR and the win with his 1:56.12 effort. |
Women 3000 Meter Steeplechase
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Name Year School Finals Points
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Section 1
1 Somers, Brittany Adams State 10:45.98
2 Burger, Shawna Unattached 10:58.49
3 Mcvannel, Shannon Chico State 11:02.79
4 Turner, Tiffany Cal Poly 11:08.87
5 Hernandez, Lily Cal State L.A. 11:09.48
6 Peck, Grace Oxy 11:15.11
7 Ellis, Katherine Usc 11:19.07
8 Miller, Danielle Santa Clara 11:25.19
9 Patton, Whitney San Marcos 11:28.01
10 Montgomery, Ashleigh UC San Diego 11:49.84
11 Moran, Dinora Chico State 11:51.41
12 Mabry, Makenzie San Diego State 12:33.11
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| Frosh Shannon McVannel dropping a 22 second PR in the steeple! |
Having finished 6th in the CCAA championship the week before and barely ranking among the top 35 in the NCAA going into the weekend, true frosh Shannon McVannel had to convince her coach (me) that she was indeed ready to tackle an 11:0’s mark that it would most likely take to get to the NCAA meet this season. Given that I have a hard time saying no to a hard working athlete, I of course agreed to give Shannon the chance. Good thing as the frosh ran a smart and gutsy race, while chopping an impressive 20+ seconds off her previous PR and in doing so moved from 40th on the final NCAA list to 18th!!!! With the top 16 making the trip automatically, we’re holding our breath to see if Shannon gets in. Either way, her effort on Saturday was nothing short of amazing. While running this impressive PR she defeated several of the same women who had easily beaten her the week before. Senior Dinora Moran who has been battling some physical ailments didn’t enjoy the greatest final race in the uniform, but did improve on her CCAA time while finishing 11th in Saturday’s race.
Women 5000 Meter Run
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Name Year School Finals Points
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Section 1
1 Mullenbach, Lavenna Adams State 17:04.64
2 Wood, Heather Adams State 17:06.55
3 Pelayo, Rocio Unattached 17:10.70
4 Goldring, Katja Tar Pits 17:12.22
5 Jenks, Jocelyn Colorado College 17:22.91
6 Murphy, Mikayla UC Santa Cruz 17:36.55
7 Freese, Alicia Pomona-Pitzer 17:37.78
8 Vazquez, Veronica Santa Clara 17:40.72
9 Escobar, Alma Concordia 17:42.11
10 Sopp, Rebecca Vanguard 17:42.94
11 Sandoval, Jessica San Marcos 17:48.40
12 Wilson, Stephanie Santa Clara 17:50.82
13 Wiemann, Kelcie Ucla 17:52.89
14 McFadden, Sarah Unattached 17:53.47
15 Zeferjahn, Tanya Unattached 17:56.32
16 Lopez, Noelle Santa Clara 17:57.30
17 Gray, Alia Unattached 17:59.92
18 Castaneda, Rosario Cal State L.A. 18:02.86
19 Van-Rooyen, Kristen Run With Us 18:04.44
20 Valdez, Lude Pacers Running 18:07.57
21 Zaranek, Megan Colorado College 18:15.03
22 Trudelle, Chrissa Westmont 18:17.59
23 Poland, Ashley Colorado College 18:18.72
24 Perez, Dora Cal State L.A. 18:19.95
25 Overlook, Jennifer Run With Us 18:23.22
26 Spencer, Katie Unattached 18:26.10
27 Banda, Lorena Snail's Pace 18:26.43
28 Zink, Kaili Fresno Pacific 18:47.36
29 Fritzke, Katie Westmont 18:51.72
30 Vaughan, Jessica Irvine 18:55.83
31 Sauve, Mandie Concordia 19:21.73
32 Yieira, Anne San Diego State 19:33.00
33 Sien, Annie Hayward 22:09.85
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| Wearing the generic White Top and Black Bottoms RS’s Alia Gray (RT) and Katie Spencer (left) |
Red shirting frosh Alia Gray and Katie Spencer made the trip to LA with hopes of breaking the 18 minute barrier for the 5k event. Gray had just missed the mark at the Woody Wilson invit, and Spencer had run 18:10 in a track 5k time trial here in Chico a month ago. A VERY quick early pace nearly took both out of the hunt as 1600m was reached in 5:33 for the pair. The next 8 laps of running were difficult for the young pair, but each battled and didn’t give up. As Gray hit the line my watch was stopped at exactly 18:00.00..... But thankfully when the official results came out, they read 17:59.92... Whew! Spencer, not able to absorb the quick early pace as well held on to a respectable 18:26 finish time. Keep your eyes on this pair down the road as both have great things to look forward to!
Men 5000 Meter Run
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Name Year School Finals Points
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1 Medigovich, Brian Adams State 14:06.98
2 Mwei, Rueben Adams State 14:09.49
3 Jabaz, Jorge Unattached 14:38.08
4 Elam, Jimmy Unattached 14:39.27
5 Megazzi, Aaron Westmont 14:45.14
6 Nichols, Alex Unattached 14:47.72
7 Emery, Ryan Atlanta 14:51.05
8 Castaneda, Daniel Unattached 14:52.39
9 Watchempino, Evan Unattached 14:55.88
10 Totari, Waleed Unattached 14:58.09
11 Pilavjian, Andrew Unattached 14:58.54
12 Scanlon, Brendan Chico State 14:59.14
13 Dixon, Andrew Westmont 15:00.30
14 Cherry, Robby Westmont 15:02.42
15 Pulido, Tony Concordia 15:06.95
16 Boggs, Julian Colorado College 15:10.85
17 Hernandez, Robert Fresno Pacific 15:14.91
18 Tesfa, Fitsum Unattached 15:17.54
19 Mejia, Ben Pacers Running 15:22.04
20 Ambriz, Axel Unattached 15:23.91
21 Perez, Emilio Unattached 15:25.65
22 Santalun, Bernardo Pacers Running 15:27.02
23 Purcell, Kevin Fluffy Bunny Tra 15:30.55
24 Aardal, Erik Unattached 15:39.20
25 Smith, Dan Unattached 15:41.51
26 Campbell, Nick Colorado College 15:45.26
27 Sacco, Tyson Fluffy Bunny Tra 15:48.51
28 Mosier, Chris Santa Clara 16:01.39
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Men’s 5,000m: In the fall we became aware of the fact that Humboldt State runner Jimmy Elam had plans to transfer to Chico. Having run some solid XC times in the fall it was known that Elam had talent and a good work ethic. Although his track PR’s weren’t as shiny as his 24:50’s Willamette Invit XC PR, Elam immediately went to work on improving when he arrived in Chico in January. (Note: Due to CCAA transfer rules Jimmy has to red shirt both track and XC). So far the transition has been VERY smooth as Jimmy Pr’d at 5k (14:57) earlier in the season, and also notched a nice 31:00 effort over the 10k distance at our home invitational. All season he’s had an eye on finishing up at the Oxy Invit with a good 5k, so with his opportunity upon him Jimmy jumped at the chance to run fast on Saturday. Following teammate Brendan Scanlon through 1600m and 3200m with marks of 4:40, and 9:24 Elam was well on his way to a quick time. Scanlon who’s dealt with some nagging breathing issues caused by allergies felt well, but wasn’t able to control his breathing beyond the 3200m point. As Brendan struggled to maintain form while slowing Elam continued to press, hitting a few 71 second and one 72 lap, before tearing off a 1:39 final 600m. The final result for Elam was an impressive 14:39 PR and 4th place finish. Scanlon slowed a bit over the final 2k, but still managed to stop the clock under 15 minutes. |