Six-pack of Wildcat men & women attain national qualifying standard
Despite having participated in one of the most poorly organized and officiated track meets over the weekend, the ‘Cats managed to post quite a few PR’s and no less than 6 NCAA provisional marks. The great part of running at the San Francisco State is the natural facility that they have in the all weather track that sits in a bowl less than 2 miles from the Pacific ocean. The sunken in design along with the towering trees that surround both ends of the track create an excellent setting for fast distance running. The two main drawbacks on Saturday were the previously mentioned meet management that allowed the meet to fall nearly 2 hours behind schedule, and the fact that the stadium has no lighting. Meet management was so bad that I’m not sure that the steeplechases would have gone off had it not been for the Wildcat distance coaches. Assistant Coaches Pat Boivin and Jen James circled the track raising the barriers to the correct heights between the women’s and men’s races while yours truly had to find a stick in the bushes adjacent to knock out the pins that allow the water jump to adjust. If we didn’t have 90 percent of our distance team running the 5k’s (second to last scheduled event on the schedule) the situation would have been comical. As things turned out, our fears were realized as both men’s 5k heats were contested in complete darkness, minus the few lights that cast enough light for athletes to see the rails and each other (to some degree). Not to get ahead of myself here I’ll start with the early meet recap and move into the moonlit 5k’s later.
Women 3000 Meter Steeplechase
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Name Year School Seed Finals
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1 Rolland, Megan JR Humboldt State 11:09.00 10:59.43
2 Hanifan, Jinny Peninsula Distan 10:50.00 11:08.89
3 Nowel, Clare SR Humboldt State 11:50.00 11:37.14
4 Fleming, Claire JR San Francisco St 11:50.00 11:39.00
5 Kilgroe, Kim FR De Anza 13:03.00 12:22.82
6 Dahlgren, Tess SO Humboldt State 13:00.00 12:25.28
7 Sandoval, Angie JR Mills College 12:50.38 12:26.87
8 Herrera, Lisa JR San Francisco St 12:20.00 12:38.23
9 Graham, Irene SO Humboldt State 12:40.00 12:46.67
10 Foster, Ondi SR Chico State 12:30.00 12:52.57
11 Rosiles, Lauren FR De Anza 15:13.00 14:21.59
12 Huynh, Thuy-Vy SO De Anza 14:43.42 14:30.96
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Women’s 3,000m Steeplechase: Senior Ondi Foster our steeple veteran of the women’s team competed in her first barrier event of the year. Her performance wasn’t a PR but given the missed training that she’s dealt with as a result of a recurring IT band issue, Saturday’s performance was a solid start. |
Men 3000 Meter Steeplechase
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Name Year School Seed Finals
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1 Garcia, Jose SR Chico State 9:35.00 9:48.04
2 Frazier, Mark FR CCSF 10:20.00 10:07.78
3 Ategeka, Christopher FR Merritt 10:32.10 10:29.30
4 Peterson, Shaun SO Humboldt State 10:10.00 10:40.00
5 Rios, David FR De Anza 11:19.00 10:54.44
6 Imamoto, Jason SO Humboldt State 10:20.00 11:05.64
7 Gustas, Robert FR Humboldt State 10:30.00 11:37.11
8 Clark, Tim Ucsc Slugs 12:40.94
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Men’s 3,000m Steeplechase: Senior Jose Garcia recorded the Win in his first steeple of the 2009 season. Employing a negative split tactic Garcia pulled away from the men’s field with each lap after the 1200 meter mark. Although it wasn’t expected, the Hartnell JC alum hurdled the final water jump barrier in front of a large group of approving teammates who had congregated at the top of the turn. The next time out Garcia will take aim at the 9:30 mark in hopes of registering a PR. |
Women 1500 Meter Run
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Name Year School Seed Finals
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1 Wheatley, Anna SR Unat-Santa Clara 4:52.45 4:48.15
2 Moran, Dinora Unattached 4:52.00 4:52.46
3 Whitmyre, Kirsti FR De Anza 4:59.28 4:53.83
4 Consiglio, Stephanie FR Chico State 4:50.00 4:57.01
5 Lai, Flora Impala Racing Te 4:55.00 4:57.46
6 Flores, Alyssa JR Chico State 4:58.00 4:57.58
7 Light, Jenny FR Santa Clara 4:56.77 5:01.30
8 Hackett, Tina JR Unattached 5:07.00 5:01.99
9 Paranthaman, Jessica SO De Anza 5:11.40 5:03.07
10 Platero, Julie SR Unattached 4:55.00 5:04.06
11 Conlin, Melissa SO Santa Clara 5:01.44 5:05.39
12 Ribble, Karen Impala Racing Te 5:15.00 5:07.02
13 Murnane, Megan FR Santa Clara 4:57.80 5:08.19
14 Chew, Kim SO De Anza 5:14.28 5:08.82
15 Finley, Alyson Unnat-Boivin 5:10.00 5:09.09
16 Estabrook, Rachael FR Bethany (Cal.) 5:40.00 5:10.74
17 Davis, Laura Unat-Mills Colle 5:03.00 5:11.36
18 Cafferty, Eileen SR San Francisco St 5:25.00 5:12.29
19 Manzo, Silvia SR Humboldt State 5:10.00 5:13.88
20 Buske, Caitlyn JR San Francisco St 5:20.03
21 Donohue, Danielle FR San Mateo 5:24.01 5:23.78
22 Jackson, Kirsten FR San Francisco St 5:30.00 5:27.23
23 Saccone, Carrie FR San Francisco St 5:30.00 5:28.43
24 Lopez, Christina FR Sacramento 5:34.23 5:32.22
25 McGraw, Katrina SO Bethany (Cal.) 5:30.00 5:34.63
26 Walker, Sierra FR UC Santa Cruz 5:58.00 5:36.89
27 Medina, Priscilla FR CCSF 5:56.37 5:37.71
28 Day, Danielle FR San Mateo 5:47.56 5:38.28
29 Hall, Faith FR Bethany (Cal.) 5:30.00 5:40.08
30 Barkley, Jessica SO Sacramento 5:36.71 5:53.15
31 Mendonca, Olivia FR UC Santa Cruz 6:30.00 6:09.72
32 Lanzaderas, Jodessa FR Mills College 6:13.38
33 Olivera, Mariah FR Mills College 6:13.56
34 Vargas, Cindy SO Sacramento 6:13.90 6:19.54
-- Valenzuela, Stephanie FR Santa Rosa 5:24.67 DNF
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Women’s 1500m: This wasn’t a pretty outing for the ‘Cats as both Consiglio and Flores faded somewhat over the final laps of the women’s 1500m. From the coache’s prospective it appeared that the rigorous workout week that we “enjoyed” may have played a role in this one. At the least this was a good lesson in racing with tired legs. Red shirting frosh Alyson Finley enjoyed a solid debut at the 1500m with her 5:09 run. Look for all three to make big strides this spring. Also of note: Alum Dinora Moran (NCAA provisional qualifier ‘08-Steeple) enjoyed a second place finish here. |
Men 1500 Meter Run
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Name Year School Seed Finals
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1 Wellman, David SR Chico State 3:58.00 3:58.30
2 Hernandez, Josh JR Unat-Santa Clara 4:00.21 4:01.34
3 Hayes, Clinton JR Chico State 3:57.00 4:03.62
4 Laughlin, John JR Santa Clara 4:03.20 4:04.31
5 Nelson, Brian SR Chico State 4:00.00 4:06.48
6 Gerber, Christopher SO CCSF 4:09.07 4:07.38
7 Robinson, Kyle JR Chico State 4:07.50 4:07.94
8 Kilroy, Steve SR Humboldt State 4:15.77 4:08.04
9 Ripa, Vojta FR Santa Rosa 4:18.61 4:08.91
10 Radenbaugh, Michael FR Humboldt State 4:10.00 4:09.34
11 Gebrekristos, Abiy FR De Anza 4:14.09 4:10.45
12 Diaz, Fernando FR CCSF 4:19.47 4:10.73
13 Crum, Clifford FR De Anza 4:16.32 4:11.22
14 Mayes, Michael JR Unattached 4:18.00 4:11.53
15 Smith, Garrett SO Santa Clara 4:11.13 4:13.36
16 Sommer, Aaron JR Notre Dame de Na 4:17.00 4:15.00
17 Hall, David SO Unattached 4:15.00 4:15.50
18 Urista, David FR CCSF 4:20.18 4:18.02
19 Lactaoen, Derek SO Humboldt State 4:15.00 4:18.65
20 Frazier, Luke FR CCSF 4:20.25 4:22.65
21 Stuart, Michael FR Bethany (Cal.) 4:20.00 4:22.96
22 Jansen, Mark Ucsc Slugs 4:19.00 4:23.29
23 Nunez, Luis FR De Anza 4:34.82 4:23.78
24 Cook, Sloane FR CCSF 4:29.89 4:24.70
25 Farhki, Hamza FR San Mateo 4:30.73 4:25.06
26 Carnegie, Joe 2 Unattached 4:00.00 4:29.30
27 Willers, Benny FR CCSF 4:25.00 4:29.67
28 Smith, Geordan FR Notre Dame de Na 4:25.00 4:32.12
29 Sterk, Ian FR Santa Rosa 4:33.18 4:32.14
30 Escobar, Caleb FR De Anza 4:39.64 4:36.01
31 Baca, Ruben FR San Mateo 4:40.05 4:37.93
32 Pala, Ajay Ucsc Slugs 4:28.00 4:40.48
33 Hayes, James FR St. Mary's (Cal. 4:45.00 4:43.98
34 Davis, Nate Unat-Mills Colle 4:58.00 4:58.53
35 Chang, Wayne FR De Anza 5:06.67 5:00.27
36 McClure, Robert SO De Anza 5:10.47 5:08.90
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Men’s 1500m: Sophomore Clinton Hayes led the first 1200m of this run before teammate David Wellman caught and passed the tiring Hayes. Wellman who recently switched his focus from 400/800 to 800/1500 enjoyed a solid 6 second PR while closing the final 400m in a blazing :56.8 seconds! With an 800 PR of 1:51, Wellman has some real potential at the 1500m distance. Hayes struggled to the line as Santa Clara red shirt Josh Hernandez flew by in the final 100m. Brian Nelson recorded a descent early season time (4:06) and Jr transfer (Chabot JC) Kyle Robinson enjoyed his first sub 4:10 ever with his 4:07 PR. Robinson has 1:54-800m speed so this was a good step in the right direction for the Junior who is attempting to work on his strength. |
Women 800 Meter Run
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Name Year School Seed Finals H#
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1 Eicholtz, Anna SO Chico State 2:19.00 2:21.09 4
2 Wheatley, Anna SR Unat-Santa Clara 2:19.77 2:21.19 4
3 Cokley, Johntay SR Chico State 2:19.00 2:21.70 4
4 Flores, Alyssa JR Chico State 2:21.00 2:22.95 4
5 Light, Jenny FR Santa Clara 2:24.50 2:24.71 3
6 Platero, Julie SR Unattached 2:23.00 2:25.90 4
7 Lai, Flora Impala Racing Te 2:24.00 2:26.32 3
8 Marquez, Anna SO Chico State 2:28.00 2:30.42 3
9 Consiglio, Stephanie FR Chico State 2:20.00 2:30.47 4
10 Randall, Kathryn FR Humboldt State 2:26.00 2:30.54 3
11 Donohue, Stephanie SR Chico State 2:27.00 2:30.91 3
12 Finley, Alyson Unnat-Boivin 2:33.00 2:33.29 3
13 Guevarra, Cathryn FR CCSF 2:45.00 2:33.67 2
14 Juarez, Danielle FR CCSF 2:45.00 2:37.77 2
15 Salazar, Cyntia FR CCSF 2:36.43 2:39.54 2
16 Lopez, Christina FR Sacramento 2:41.35 1
17 Yazdi, Yasamin FR De Anza 2:48.76 2:43.80 1
18 Garner, Martina SO Sacramento 2:40.70 2:43.89 2
19 Hall, Faith FR Bethany (Cal.) 2:35.00 2:45.24 3
20 Nguyen, Loni SO CCSF 2:47.14 2:46.78 1
21 Cardona, Gema FR Mills College 3:06.61 1
22 Chozom, Sonam FR Mills College 3:28.10 1
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| Alyssa Flores running solo during the 800m with less than 150 remaining.
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Flores, Consiglio and Finley doubled back from the 1500m and results were somewhat mixed. Flores battled among the lead pack that included 1500m champ Wheatley and teammates Eicholtz and Cokley (4/8 runners competing in their first event of the day). Although she didn’t win Flores battled well and was rewarded with a nice 2:22 mark which wasn’t too bad considering the 1500m before. Consiglio and Finley followed with 2:30 and 2:33 times respectively.
Men 800 Meter Run
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Name Year School Seed Finals H#
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1 Hayes, Clinton JR Chico State 1:51.80 1:54.75 4
2 Wellman, David SR Chico State 1:52.50 1:55.04 4
3 Locklin, Ryan Unattached 1:57.00 1:56.98 4
4 Nelson, Brian SR Chico State 1:52.70 1:57.02 4
5 Suarez, Carlos Unattached 1:58.70 1:58.15 4
6 Robinson, Kyle JR Chico State 1:55.50 1:59.81 4
7 Radenbaugh, Michael FR Humboldt State 1:58.00 2:00.57 4
8 Smelser, Scott SO Unattached 2:00.00 2:02.19 4
9 Yonas, Alex FR Merritt 2:01.38 2:02.79 3
10 Oneal, Chris Mizuno-Wolfpack 2:00.16 2:03.31 3
11 Nunez, Luis FR De Anza 2:03.60 2:03.49 2
11 Ripa, Vojta FR Santa Rosa 2:00.20 2:03.49 3
13 Blucher, Mark SO St. Mary's (Cal. 2:04.00 2:03.76 2
14 Urista, David FR CCSF 2:06.58 2:03.83 2
15 Diaz, Fernando FR CCSF 2:05.00 2:04.95 2
16 Ategeka, Christopher FR Merritt 2:02.58 2:05.93 3
17 Villegas, Mario FR Merritt 2:05.62 2:05.99 2
18 Jansen, Mark Ucsc Slugs 2:03.00 2:06.79 3
19 Trinidade, Christopher FR De Anza 2:11.03 2:06.92 1
20 Hawkins, Antwain FR CCSF 2:10.00 2:07.14 1
21 Sommer, Aaron JR Notre Dame de Na 2:10.00 2:07.44 1
22 Shutes, Shaun SR Ucsc Slugs 2:06.00 2:10.07 2
23 Stuart, Michael FR Bethany (Cal.) 2:05.00 2:10.34 2
24 Willers, Benny FR CCSF 2:08.00 2:14.08 1
25 Escobar, Caleb FR De Anza 2:13.57 2:17.40 1
26 Baca, Ruben FR San Mateo 2:13.70 2:19.17 1
27 Tomka, Paul FR De Anza 2:25.38 2:28.12 1
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| Clinton Hayes leading teammate David Wellman coming off the final turn in the men's 800m. |
Knowing that he’d let a descent opportunity slip through his fingers in the earlier 1500m, Clinton Hayes led almost every step of the 800m recording a fairly even splitted 1:54. Wellman negative splitted to a nice 1:55.04 double. Brian Nelson doubled back for a 1:57 and Robinson with a similar 1:59 final run.
Women 5000 Meter Run
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Name Year School Seed Finals Points
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1 Shaw, Julie JR Chico State 17:35.00 17:23.20 NCAA
2 Lubieniecki, Kara SO Chico State 17:52.00 17:23.60 NCAA
3 Tyler, Tori SO Chico State 17:30.00 17:25.80 NCAA
4 Murphy, Mikayla SO UC Santa Cruz 16:59.00 17:28.30
5 Campbell, Nicole West Valley TC 17:35.00 17:42.60
6 Gray, Alia Chico State 18:01.70
7 McVannel, Shannon SO Chico State 18:00.00 18:12.00
8 Spencer, Katie Unnat-Chico 18:10.00 18:12.50
9 Joyce, Colleen JR Chico State 18:15.00 18:13.30
10 Giove, Nicole FR Santa Clara 18:36.98 18:14.50
11 Rich, Shannon SO Chico State 18:24.00 18:16.30
12 Weeks, Jonah FR Chico State 18:30.00 18:17.60
13 Racine, Samantha FR Chico State 18:30.00 18:19.40
14 Brieno, Jessica SO Chico State 18:40.00 18:26.90
15 Sawyer, Leah Tamalpa Running 18:59.00 18:28.40
16 Whitmyre, Kirsti FR De Anza 18:39.54 18:29.50
17 Nelson, Jessica SO Chico State 18:35.00 18:48.30
Heat 1 (TC guess)
18 Garcia, Amanda JR Humboldt State 19:30.00 19:01.27
19 Lee, Jenna SR Humboldt State 19:30.00 19:15.20
20 Grannemann, Tess SO St. Mary's (Cal. 18:30.00 19:15.30
21 Gigliotti, Sara Impala Racing Te 19:30.00 19:22.36
22 Bergeson, Brooke SO Chico State 19:31.69 19:25.02
23 Cain, Jenny FR UC Santa Cruz 19:29.00 19:31.42
25 Stiers, Hailey SO UC Santa Cruz 19:29.00 19:34.61
26 Shields, Kelsey FR UC Santa Cruz 19:29.00 19:40.13
27 Tables, Allison Unattached 19:30.00 19:44.45
28 Eck, Megan FR San Francisco St 19:50.00 19:45.10
29 Marchan, Karen FR San Francisco St 19:50.00 19:45.45
30 Reed, Nicole Unnat-Boivin 20:40.00 19:48.48
31 Chew, Kim SO De Anza 19:48.72
32 Toth, Cynthia SO UC Santa Cruz 19:59.00 19:50.78
33 Paranthaman, Jessica SO De Anza 23:24.12 19:51.88
34 Kilgroe, Kim FR De Anza 20:01.18
35 Zack, Jenna SR St. Mary's (Cal. 20:45.00 20:32.02
36 Biehl, Stephanie FR Notre Dame de Na 22:30.00 20:57.13
37 Reinagel, Jackie FR UC Santa Cruz 20:29.00 21:22.15
38 Yazdi, Yasamin FR De Anza 22:29.54
39 Rosiles, Lauren FR De Anza 22:46.09
40 Adler, Elena JR Mills College 23:47.00 22:49.26
41 Villanueva, Maura SO De Anza 23:19.10 23:08.64
42 Powell, Devin FR De Anza 24:29.45 23:46.95
43 Hjersman, Hanako SR Mills College 24:33.44 23:54.65
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| Sophomore Brooke Bergesen leads Heat I of the women’s 5k, en route to her 19:25 PR run. |
This is the part of the meet where we could have used daylight savings a day early. There were 2 heats of women’s 5k’s and 2 heats of men’s, and only 45 minutes of daylight left. The women had just enough time to enjoy perfect distance running conditions before both men’s heats would have to deal with darkness and a unique race setting.
Women’s 5k Heat I (Faster heats ran second): Sophomore Brooke Bergesen finished among the top 5 in the first heat of the women’s competition logging a nice 19:25 PR. Also enjoying a nice sub 20 run in this heat was red shirting frosh Nicole Reed who ran an even paced 19:48.
Heat II: From 1988 to 2000 Sue Hansen sat atop the CSUC All time list for the women’s 5k with her impressive 17:25 run. Since Jenny Spoon broke the long standing record (in 2000), a long line of ‘Cats have worked their way up the All Time list, with Katie Lee establishing the very formidable new school record (16:25) at the 2005 Stanford invitational. Fast forward to 2009 and Sue Hansen sat at #8 on the all time CSUC list going into the season. This is until Saturday’s race that is. No less than 3 ‘Cats recorded sub 17:26 times on Saturday with #3 Tori Tyler missing Hansen’s mark by a narrow .6 seconds. Junior Julie Shaw (Anderson HS) and Sophomore Kara Lubieniecki (Bear Creek HS/Lakewood, CO) didn’t miss the mark as each recorded 17:23 times with Shaw earning the win by less than .5 seconds. Just as impressive as the actual times up front was the depth of quality times by the Wildcats on Saturday. No less than 10 ‘Cats with eligibility remaining ran 18:19 or better. To put this stat into perspective, in 2007 only 3 Wildcat women broke the 19 minute mark for 5k. 10 of the 14 competing ‘Cats broke existing PR’s with two of the other four narrowly missing their personal marks by less than 2 seconds.
Tori Tyler started the race with Shaw, Lubieniecki and Gray, recording laps splits of 87 and 85 before the Soph became antsy and she moved quickly to the heels of the leader, (who eventually dropped out) a club runner from the Bay Area. 82 second laps appeared to be too soft for the aggressive Tyler who passed the club runner and notched a few 80 second laps. The action behind saw Shaw and Lubieniecki working their way through a small chase pack with Santa Cruz’s Standout Mikayla Murphy along for the ride. Together Shaw and Lubieniecki alternated between 82 and 83 second revolutions hitting 1600m in 5:40, 11:13 (5:33), 16:46 (5:33). During the final kilometer it became apparent that the slowing Tyler might be absorbed by the even paced Chico pair in Lubieniecki and Shaw who had pulled from Murphy and were zeroing in on the finish.
After losing contact with Lubieniecki and Shaw fairly early in the race frosh Alia Gray fought hard while running the entire final 4k completely alone. Despite stuck in "no-man's land", Gray held on well and finished just 2 seconds off her PR. Behind Gray was a huge pack of Chico women who had a completely different set of circumstances to deal with. In what was an idea situation for everyone involved, no less than 7 ‘Cats worked together to keep 87-88 second laps on tact. The final product was a great mass finish that saw six of the seven finish within 7 seconds and the seventh (Jessica Brieno) still notched a nice 18:26 PR.
During the final revolution Shaw and Lubieniecki did catch and pass teammate Tyler who attempted to switch gears to run with them. Shaw hit the tape first with Lubieniecki just off her shoulder and Tyler just a few ticks behind. As it turns out, Tyler had aggravated what appears to be a nerve in her back during the race and was in extreme pain much of the run. Counting Katie Spencer who is red shirting the track season, the ‘Cats had 12 of the first 17 finishers with all 12 finishing at 90 seconds per lap or better! Definitely a great run for the distance ladies! (Note: Shaw, Lubieniecki, and Tyler all hit NCAA provisional marks with their efforts)
Men 5000 Meter Run (Heat 2 - all hand timed due to darkness)
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Name Year School Seed Finals
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1 Beau Rogers Chico State 14:38.4 NCAA
2 Tim Cannon Chico State 14:39.5 NCAA
3 Jimmy Elam Chico State 14:40.7 NCAA
4 Brendan Scanlon Chico State 14:46.2
5 Michael Wickman Chico State 14:52.0
6 Robbie Reid Santa Clara 14:57.5
7 Thomas Whitcomb Chico State 14:59.9
8 Manny Mejia Chico State 15:06.2
9 Joey Kochlacs Chico State 15:10.3
10 Alex Sharp Chico State 15:11.5
11 Anthony Solis Unatt-Chico 15:12.4
12 Jeff Wilson Chico State 15:14.6
13 Ruben Alvidrez Unatt 15:21.4
14 Alan Campos Chico State 15:24.4
15 Evan Hennessey Santa Clara 15:26.5
16 Matt LoForte Chico State 15:34.1
17 Nick Shea St Mary's 15:34.6
18 Steven Kilroy Humboldt 15:40.1
19 Backus Santa Clara 15:40.6
20 Miles Dunbar Chico State 15:44.2
21 Wagner Santa Clara 15:47.0
22 Wes Cheney Unatt-Chico 15:56.5
23 Julio Jimenez Chico State 15:59.9
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| They're a little hard to make out, but trust me the Wildcat men run well under the stealth of darkness. (click on photo for a daylight view of Scanlon, Cannon, Elam and Whitcomb from Wildcat Relays). |
Heat I: RS Frosh Josh Linen enjoyed a surprisingly good outing tonight given the circumstances in running with little light, And coming off an unplanned 2 week break (he’s been running again for only 15 days!). Linen ran among the leaders of Heat I and employed a very strong final 600m that included a :28 second final 200m to record a 15:28 final time! This wasn’t a PR for Linen, but it appears that with 4-6 more weeks of running along with workouts... Linen should be easily under the 15 minute mark.
Heat II:
If it wasn’t pitch black out for Heat I of the men’s 5000m, it certainly was by the start of Heat II, which didn’t get underway until nearly 7pm on Saturday night (Pre-Daylight Savings ‘09). Not letting the situation at hand get the best of them or their enthusiasm, all 17 Chico Athletes circled up for the Chico State XC Pre-Race chant. Inspired and ready to roll, the guys set out for solid early season times in less than ideal conditions. 14:18 5k guy Angel Marquez was assigned rabbit duties for 3200m+ at what was hoped to be in the 70-71 second range.
After a slowish first revolution of 72.7, Marquez notched the splits down to 71, and then a series of 5-70’s in a row (Marquez did well considering he had to use his indiglo function on the watch to dial in the pace). 1600m was reached in 4:45 and a fairly large contingent of mostly Chico guys were still together at the front. During the second mile various packs seemed to form and dissolve, but to be quite honest it was impossible to see who was where, until they were back at the start area. The lead pack of Marquez (the Rabbit), Cannon, Elam, Scanlon, Wickman, Rogers and Reid of Santa Clara hit 3200m in 9:28. Marquez took another lap for good measure, leaving the pack with a 71.1 and putting them in range for sub 14:40 if they could close well. Brendan Scanlon (14:49 pr) took the reins and uppped the ante a bit dropping a 69 second lap from 3.5 out and followed that with another 70. Inside the final 600m Elam took the lead which lasted until 3:55 1500m guy Beau Rogers took the pace from 300m out. Rogers’ closing speed was too much for teammates although Tim Cannon the surprising winner of last week’s 3k kept things close to the finish.
The inner team bragging rights helped both Beau and Cannon dip under 14:40 which were big PR’s for each. Neither had ever cracked the 15 minute marks previous to this run. Elam just missed his PR (14:39) with his 14:40 official time, and despite not kicking all out Scanlon still finished with a 3 second PR with his 14:46 time. With the NCAA provisional cut off being at 14:45, Rogers, Cannon, and Elam placed their names on the rank order NCAA list for the ‘09 season. It will most likely take a sub 14:30 run to eventually make the championships though. 1500/800m specialist Wickman had been dropped by the pack during the final mile, but still held on for a nice PR, as did Thomas Whitcomb who had never broken 15 minutes for the 5k previously. Also notching PR’s were Joey Kochlacs, Alex Sharp, Alan Campos, Matt LoForte and Miles Dunbar. Due to the dark conditions all times were hand timed but were confirmed by the CSUC coaching staff as well as the meet officials who timed each finisher as they crossed the line.