Wickman (twice), McVannel, Tyler and Gray All-American
The surprise performances of the meet for the ‘Cats were those of Gray (10k) and McVannel (Steeple) who were ranked 14th and 15th in their events and came home with 6th and 4th place finishes. Both ran well beyond their years (Shannon is a true soph, Gray-a RS Frosh) while moving through their respective fields on the way to eventual All American finishes. Of course there was the amazing three days of running by Michael Wickman in which he missed two NCAA titles by a combined 1.43 seconds, while finishing third in both the 1500m and 800m events. Michael’s third place finishes earned 12 of the ‘Cats 24 team points, which helped the men’s team earn it’s second straight Top-10 finish (9th). Although he wasn’t completely happy with either result, Michael’s weekend was really quite impressive. Here’s a quick snapshot of his day-to-day results:
Thursday: Wins 1500m prelim with 56.7 final revolution moving from last to first over the final 300m of running (3:51.33 final time)
Friday: Wins 800m prelim leading almost every step, while trying to help teammate David Wellman’s chances of reaching the final. Final time: 1:50.02
Saturday: Third Place in 1500m final behind Michael Crouch-Queens (13:40 5k guy who wasn’t doubling), and Aaron Braun (13:36 5k guy, and 2 time defending NCAA 1500m champ and DII NCAA Track athlete of the year). 100 minutes after finishing the 1500m final Michael runs his third career sub 1:50 while placing third overall in the 800m, losing a kick down the final stretch with two athletes who were not doubled. A nice improvement for the RS Junior who finished 7th in the 1500m final two years ago, and just missed making the 800m final. Of course Michael red shirted last year while gearing up for his final two years of eligibility.
OK, I’ll do my best to break down each day and race that the ‘Cats had entrants into below. Hang on tight as it was a long and exciting ride.
Men 1500 Meter Run
================================================================
12 Advance: Top 4 Each Heat plus Next 4 Best Times
Heat 1 Preliminaries
Meet Record: # 3:38.91 5/23/1987 Kip Cheruiyot, Mt St Mary's
Name Year School Prelims
================================================================
Heat 1 Preliminaries
1 Michael Wickman Jr Cal St Chico 3:51.33Q
2 Ryan McNiff So Adams State 3:51.88Q
3 Rick Bogatay Jr Metro St/Denver 3:52.50Q
4 Nathan Newland Jr Metro St/Denver 3:52.81Q
5 Anthony Tomsich Jr Western Washington 3:52.96q
6 Michael Pierce Sr Southwest Baptist 3:53.35q
7 Scott Ingram Fr Metro St/Denver 3:53.97
8 Alfred Kangogo Fr Alaska Anchorage 3:54.26
Heat 2 Preliminaries
1 Michael Crouch So Queens 3:50.77Q
2 Jared McNeil So Tarleton State 3:50.95Q
3 Aaron Braun Sr Adams State 3:51.12Q
4 Mujahid Hassaballa Jr Pittsburg State 3:51.48Q
5 Denise Mokaya Jr Minn St- Mankato 3:51.94q
6 Mack McLain Fr Colorado/Mines 3:52.45q
7 Scott Kimbell Sr Adams State 4:14.67
8 Andrew Graham Fr Adams State 4:21.37
|
Michael Wickman As mentioned earlier Michael handled his field in the 1500m prelim fairly easily. Running among the pack the entire race Michael slipped to the back on the penultimate turn to allow for space to move to the outside lanes. Down the backstretch the junior from Walnut Creek swept through most of the field moving into third on the final turn. From there he accelerated off the turn and motored by Adams’ Ryan McNiff (3:42 altitude adjusted PR) on the way to the heat win. Michael’s 56.7 final lap looked very smooth and safely advanced him to the final. South Central Region Athlete of the year Michael Crouch won Heat II and Adams’ National athlete of the year Aaron Braun also safely made the final, setting up a battle of 3 Regional Track athletes of the year. |
Women 3000 Meter Steeplechase
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Meet Record: # 10:20.42 5/24/2008 Winrose Karunde, Abilene Christian
Name Year School Prelims
================================================================
Heat 1 Preliminaries
1 Lisa Thomas Sr Western St 10:46.90Q
2 Kara Eckard Sr MO Southern 10:49.17Q
3 Janette Cary Jr Adams State 10:58.65Q
4 Megan Rolland Jr Humboldt State 11:01.23Q
5 Danna Kelly Sr Truman State 11:01.40q
6 Shannon McVannel So Chico St 11:02.05q
7 Molly Clark Jr Augustana 11:04.76q
8 Sarah Lyle Fr Western St 11:13.58
9 Liliana Hernandez Sr Cal St LA 11:13.63
10 Rebecca Winchester So Grand Valley St 11:15.56
Heat 2 Preliminaries
1 Mary Ballinger Jr So Indiana 10:51.00Q
2 Karla Alburez Sr Cal St LA 10:55.39Q
3 Laura Mucho Jr Slippery Rock 11:03.23Q
4 Sarah Brassard Sr Mass - Lowell 11:03.29Q
5 Tiffany Turner Sr Cal Poly Pomona 11:03.64q
6 Jen Gardynski Sr Stonehill 11:25.68
7 Esther Komen Jr Harding 11:29.01
8 Katy Grant Jr Harding 11:34.60
9 Karie McDonald Fr Grand Valley St 11:38.94
|
Shannon McVannel True sophomore Shannon McVannel has proven to be a very interesting athlete to coach. One of the most coachable and hard working athletes on the team Shannon does an amazing job of getting herself physically prepared for races and has shown the potential to run well beyond her current PR’s at most distances. The missing part has been confidence and her not taking full advantage of the fitness and talent that she possesses. For the second year in a row Shannon failed to finish among the top 4 in the CCAA and looked to be on the outside of the NCAA picture looking in, before hitting NCAA qualifying marks at each of the past two Oxy last chance meets. My number one goal was to spend the time between CCAA’s and NCAA’s trying to convince Shannon that she could run with almost anyone in the NCAA on a given day if she could put a solid race together. Thursday’s prelim in the steeple was a step in the right direction as Shannon kept herself close to a large pack and passed runners as they slowed ahead. One by one athletes with faster seed times, faded from ahead and Shannon would move forward in the field. Although Shannon raced better in the prelims than she had in her CCAA run she still lacked the poise and confidence that it would surely take to be an All American on Saturday. Thankfully though her effort was solid enough to gain her spot on the line in the final. Only 12 made the final and despite being ranked 15th going into the meet, Shannon now had at least 4 people to beat to become an All American on Saturday. |
Men 3000 Meter Steeplechase
================================================================
12 Advance: Top 4 Each Heat plus Next 4 Best Times
Meet Record: # 8:36.84 5/26/2007 Nicodemus Naimadu, Abilene Chrstn
Name Year School Prelims
================================================================
Heat 1 Preliminaries
1 Reuben Chebon-Mwei Jr Adams State 9:13.14Q
2 Matt Schneider Sr Wayne State 9:15.64Q
3 David Kiplagat Sr Alaska Anchorage 9:16.86Q
4 Jesse Evans So Saginaw Valley 9:17.28Q
5 Philip Biwott Fr Harding 9:25.46q
6 Nate Preston Jr Wayne State 9:32.49
7 Timothy Guerin Jr Mass - Lowell 9:53.97
8 Jose Garcia Sr Cal St Chico 10:00.72
-- Josh Mathis So Missouri Southern DNF
|
Heat I: Chico’s Jose Garcia looked strong for the opening 1200m running among the top 3-5 in search of a Top-4 qualifying spot. Unfortunately Jose lost some focus and clipped a barrier with the quad of his trail leg. The unexpected collision took him out of his rhythm and created a pretty deep muscle bruise in his muscle. Trying to keep his composure Jose battled on, but each lap after resulted in him slipping further and further back in the field. Unfortunately Jose failed to make the final thus ending his collegiate running career. Given that at the beginning of the season Jose was considered a “bubble guy” just to make our CCAA championship roster, his eventual CCAA title and NCAA qualification were icing on the cake. It was a great final season for the hard working senior from Salinas, CA. |
Men 3000 Meter Steeplechase
================================================================
12 Advance: Top 4 Each Heat plus Next 4 Best Times
Meet Record: # 8:36.84 5/26/2007 Nicodemus Naimadu, Abilene Chrstn
Name Year School Prelims
================================================================
Heat 2 Preliminaries
1 Daniel Maina Sr Abilene Christian 9:18.34Q
2 Loren Ahonen So Western State 9:20.56Q
3 Tyler Emmorey So Grand Valley State 9:21.05Q
4 Nick Hilton So Lock Haven 9:21.48Q
5 Beau Rogers Jr Cal St Chico 9:21.90q
6 Chris Hammer Sr Grand Valley State 9:27.03q
7 Skyler Delmott Jr Emporia State 9:29.05q
8 David Goodman So Southern Indiana 9:38.40
|
Heat II: The advantage of being in the second heat is that you are able to watch the first heat unfold and see what types of times are needed for minimum qualification into the final. Beau understood that if he ran 9:24 or better he wouldn’t need to concern himself with fighting for one of the automatic 4 qualifying spots that are granted to the first four in each heat. Beau played his cards well in the heats waiting patiently in the pack and covering the moves that needed to be covered. When it came down the the final stretch Beau didn’t try to kick down Lock Haven’s Nick Hilton, knowing that he was safely into the final while finishing fifth in the heat. Although the result was promising Beau noted that he didn’t feel quite as well as he’d hoped and that it felt harder than it should have given the modest time. This seemed to be the case with many of the athletes in both steeples though as many struggled to run times well above their pr’s. Perhaps it was the 1800ft of altitude in San Angelo, or maybe the warmer temps with more humidity than we’re used to… Either way, it didn’t matter as Beau had his spot on the line for Saturday’s final. |
Women 10000 Meter Run
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Meet Record: # 33:24.24 5/22/1985 Robyn Root, Cal Poly SLO season
Name Year School Finals rank
================================================================
Section 1
1 Tanya Zeferjahn Fr Queens 35:38.46 10
2 Kimi Shank Jr MO Southern 35:42.93 11
3 Heather Wood Sr Adams State 35:55.62 4
4 Tori Tyler So Chico St 35:57.17 15
5 Sarah Porter So Western Wash 36:02.72 5
6 Alia Gray Fr Chico St 36:05.13 14
7 Lavenna Mullenbach Sr Adams State 36:15.43 3
8 Kylen Cieslak Jr Northwood 36:19.47 9
9 Morgan Place Fr Minn-Duluth 36:21.10 18
10 Tina Yi So Edinboro 36:40.27 8
11 Jennifer Harpp Jr Slippery Rock 36:59.63 6
12 Erin Richard Sr Clarion 37:19.42 2
13 Rachael Lanzel Sr Edinboro 37:29.26 1
14 Lauren Breihof So Western Wash 37:32.45 13
15 Miranda Wagner Sr Augustana 38:00.22 16
16 Janae Larson So Seattle Pacific 38:40.83 7
17 Lindsey Lambert Fr Lock Haven 39:16.99 12
|
| Alia Gray (left-Hip # 12 follows eventual champ Tanya Zefferjahn #13, and teammate Tori Tyler during the second mile of the 10k final)
|
The first lap was a surprisingly slow 89 seconds which was very slow given the number of sub 36 minute runners in the field. Lap two was a different story as some of the top seeds (sub 35 min credentials) clicked the pace down to 82, and now the race was on. The goal for Tori was to maintain contact with the lead pack while doing her best to conserve energy for the later laps. Given that she had run 36:05 in the monsoon that was the CCAA final, we felt confident that she could roll with anyone in this field on a given night. Tori played her cards beautifully throughout, sticking with the leaders and covering breaks in the pack as they happened ahead.
Alia’s 36:05 had come in perfect conditions in a perfect field so we knew that she would have to play her cards just right to have any shot at finishing among the Top 8 in this talented field. Alia’s goal was to keep her eye on the main pack and cover all moves that she felt she could for as long as she was able. Gray who races light years ahead of her age (RS Frosh) did just this, sticking with a main group that was out fairly aggressively through 3200m and 5k. Everyone in a race like this has the goal of finishing in the Top-8 at least, so it was no surprise that a pack of 17 hit the 1600m in 5:42 and 3200m in 11:25. During the third mile athletes who were having rougher evenings, fell off the pack, never to be heard from again. Thankfully both ‘Cats hung tough with Tori well inside the Top-10 and Gray on the back end of a pack that was now 13-14 strong.
The pack hit the 5k mark at a fairly honest 17:55-17:57 (remember there were 13 runners still running together at this point) but soon thereafter the group began to splinter a bit. Although the exact details are a bit hazy in my mind (long trip with many races) a group of 8-9 that included Tyler separated from 3-4 women that included Gray. One thing that seemed to be taking it’s toll on a few top seeds was the undulating and switching paces that were happening in the lead pack. An 87 lap might be followed by an 84 and the pace per lap would often vary per lap by 2-3 seconds or more. Thankfully many of our workouts as we approached the championship season included varying paces, so Tori and Alia hung strong despite the “slinky effect” that seemed to happen as the pace at the front quickened and slowed.
During the fourth and fifth miles Tori covered moves that needed to be covered and she now worked inside the Top 3-4 looking in control of her efforts. The Sophomore from Los Altos, CA had a chance to win and the Chico fans were very excited. Perhaps even more surprising was the fact that Alia didn’t just fade off in the distance once she was kicked off the main pack like many of the others. Fighting hard to maintain mid 80 second laps Alia kept passing the victims of the honest paces of the lead group. One by one Alia would move her way past struggling runners, including the Top-3 seeds in the race! During the 8th Kilometer Alia moved into the 8th position and looked great in doing so. As a credit to her for not being content with being in an All American position Gray kept moving forward and closing on the next runner ahead. Inside the final mile Alia made the most impressive pass into 6th place by moving past Adams’ top distance gal Lavenna Mullenbach (16:30/34:50 PR’s!)
While Gray moved into 6th place Tori was doing some great work of her own and with 4 laps to go Tori dropped an 84 split to move into second overall just off the heels of Missiouri Southern’s Kimi Shank (9th at XC NCAA’s this fall). The move seemed to take some of the wind out of Tyler’s sails though as Tori started to fade over the next 400 and 800m’s running back-to-back 89’s. This slowdown allowed Adams’ Heather Wood (4th at XC NCAA’s) and eventual champ Tanya Zeferjahn to move past leaving Tori in 4th position. Running in 4th and 6th over the final 400m, both ‘Cats finished strong maintaining their positions. Tori closed in a solid 82 that brought her back closer but just shy of Wood, and Gray’s low 80’s final lap kept her ahead of Adams’ #2 Mullenbach. Knowing how big a feat it was to have both women finish in the Top 6 the Chico crowd cheered loudly and everyone rushed the finish to congratulate the exhausted pair.
Closer analysis of the women’s results showed that only 3 athletes in the entire field ran their PR’s on this evening. Second place Shank enjoyed a nice PR, along with the two Chico runners (Note: Alia actually “tied” her PR or ran within .10 of her Mt Sac time). Many times if you just do what you did to get to the NCAA meet, you end up with a solid result. Tonight was definitely one of those nights. It’s hard to say why so many athletes ran well off their PR’s but we won’t bother trying to figure it out.. we’ll just enjoy the final result! For Tori this was her second All American performance since joining the ‘Cats this Fall (she earned her first at XC NCAA’s in the fall). Alia earned her first All American Award of what will surely be a number more down the road given that she’s got three more years of eligibility in both sports.
Men 10000 Meter Run
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Meet Record: # 28:26.56 5/25/1995 Charles Mulinga, Lewis
Name Year School Finals
================================================================
Section 1
1 Daniel Kirwa So Harding 29:46.84
2 Brian Medigovich Sr Adams State 29:49.31
3 Amos Sang So Abilene Chrstn 29:54.20
4 Cleophas Tanui Jr Abilene Chrstn 30:00.38
5 Jeff Weiss Sr Slippery Rock 30:16.24
6 Laban Sialo Fr Central Missouri 30:20.28
7 Marko Cheseto So Alaska Anchorage 30:28.81
8 Christopher Clark Sr Calif. U-Pa 30:50.41
9 Jimmy Elam Jr Chico St 31:07.49
10 Ben Zywicki So Colorado/Mines 31:11.85
11 Sean Brown So Western St 31:12.66
12 Jordan Welling So Western Wash 31:24.50
13 Luke Cragg Jr Adams State 31:49.94
14 Dustin Emerick Fr So Indiana 31:59.34
15 Todd Tolentino Jr Metro St/Den 32:14.98
16 Chris Croff Jr So Connecticut 32:57.59
He now ran alone in 13th place well ahead of the small chase pack that consisted of Cruz, Croff, Tolentino and Brown. Although Jimmy would not finish in All American position by the end of the race, nor would he challenge his PR (No athlete PR’d in this field) Jimmy ran a heck of a race, and he did it All by himself. Instead of fading off into the distance and being absorbed by the chasing quartet behind, Jimmy kept battling and working hard. The result was a gradual slowing of lap splits, but at the same time he passed one struggling athlete after another as they were booted from the main group. During the final mile Jimmy made his way past 14:05 guy Luke Cragg from Adams, and Western Washington’s school record holder Jordan Welling.
With 2 laps to go Jimmy ran in the most bitter-sweet position in the race (9th place) and well behind the races Top seed coming in, Chris Clark (who was now in 8th and running 120m ahead). Given Clark’s impressive credentials (13:58/29:02) it was unlikely that he could catch the struggling senior from PA, but Jimmy fought hard in hopes of making up the 100m that separated himself from an All American certificate. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be and Jimmy finished 9th overall, but everyone present was very impressed with this effort. Having lowered his PR from 31:00 to 30:03 this year Jimmy appears set up to become Chico’s 4th Sub 30 guy next year if all goes well.
Men 800 Meter Run
================================================================
12 Advance: Top 2 Each Heat plus Next 4 Best Times
Meet Record: # 3:38.91 5/23/1987 Kip Cheruiyot, Mt St Mary's
Name Year School Prelims
================================================================
Heat 1 Preliminaries
1 Michael Wickman Jr Chico St 1:50.02Q
2 Nick Maynard Sr Colorado/Mines 1:50.54Q
3 Johnny Shuping Jr St Augustine's 1:50.84q
4 David Wellman Sr Chico St 1:51.75
5 Cory Pena Fr Alaska Anchorage 1:52.26
Heat 2 Preliminaries
1 Anthony Luna Jr Metro St/Den 1:51.21Q
2 Alan Schmitz Sr North Georgia 1:51.67Q
3 Sam Watson Jr Northwood 1:52.31
4 Mick Boyle Sr Alaska Anchorage 1:52.32
5 Ben Hatch Fr Indiana Univ/Pa 1:53.22
6 James Pettigrew Sr Alaska Anchorage 2:00.53
Heat 3 Preliminaries
1 Shawn Lindbom So Metro St/Den 1:50.95Q
2 Andrew Graham Fr Adams State 1:51.25Q
3 Shawn Etzenhouser Jr SW Baptist 1:51.65q
4 Charlie Richards Jr Saginaw Valley 1:52.59
5 Dreyfus Clemons So Morehouse 1:52.72
6 Clinton Hayes So Chico St 1:52.93
Heat I: The race went out exactly as planned with David taking the first 200m with Michael at his side. Although I can’t speak for Michael’s thoughts during this race it really appeared as though Michael wanted to limit the amount that his teammate would have to lead, as Michael assumed the fore on the second turn and well before the 400m mark. Leading through the bell at 54.0 with Wellman in his back pocket, the Chico pair looked great. Michael kept the pace honest and quick down the backstretch and David appeared to be allowing a few meters to form between he and his teammate ahead. As David slid a bit in the 6th-100m, Alaska’s Cory Pena attacked hard from 300m to go. The soph from Kodiak, AK never quite caught Wickman before he began to fade a bit on the final turn. As Pena faded Mine’s returning 800m All American Nick Maynard made his bid for the final by passing Pena and Wellman into second behind Wickman. With 150m remaining Wellman started to kick increasing his pace and passing Pena. Unfortunately as Wellman moved around Pena he was clipped by St Augustine’s Johnny Shuping. This momentarily slowed his pace before he regained and sprinted down the final stretch. In the final 70meters Shuping flew passed Wellman into third while recording a PR 1:50.84. Wellman finished 4th stopping the clock at 1:51.75. Wickman had solo’d a 1:50.02 from the front to gain his spot into the final, but Wellman would now have to beat the time of the next two heats’ third place finishers in order to make the final.
Heat II: Third place= 1:52.31 (There’s still hope for David!)
Heat III: Chico Soph Clinton Hayes hasn’t enjoyed the greatest of seasons given his 1:50 a year ago while red shirting. ’09 has been an up and down affair with quite a few incomplete workouts and some tough races. The goal in the NCAA race was to gather his energy and be in control of his race from the outset. Clinton looked good moving through 400m with the leaders in 3rd or 4th overall and held this position down the backstretch. The final 200m wasn’t pretty though as Clinton lost his form and gave up valuable meters on the leaders of his heat and faded to last over the final 50m. This was a tough end to the season for the talented Soph who ran 1:53 as a Prep while winning the NCS title. Hopefully he can use the frustration of the ’09 season to power into top NCAA finishes over the coming years because he is completely capable. Perhaps the most heartbreaking part of watching heat III unfold was viewing the scoreboard as the third place time flashed onto the screen at the conclusion of the race. To become an All American David Wellman needed the third place finisher to run 1:51.76 or slower. Unfortunately for David, SW Baptist’s Sean Etzenhouser’s final time was 1:51.65, thus ending the Chico senior’s collegiate career just .11 seconds shy of becoming an All American. Being the great sportsman that he is, David took the finish in stride and was fine with the result, knowing he had put his best on the track and given it his all.
Men 5000 Meter Run
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Meet Record: # 13:49.85 5/28/1994 Charles Mulinga, Lewis
Name Year School Prelims
================================================================
Heat 1 Preliminaries
1 Daniel Kirwa So Harding 14:27.75Q
2 Marko Cheseto So Alaska Anchorage 14:27.81Q
3 Tyler Pennel So Western St 14:28.31Q
4 Aaron Braun Sr Adams State 14:29.49Q
5 Florian Theophile Jr Adams State 14:30.25q
6 Iain Donnan Jr Western St 14:34.49q
7 Daniel Maina Sr Abilene Chrstn 14:34.64q
8 Tim Cannon So Chico St 14:51.62
9 Angel Marquez Sr Chico St 14:54.73
Heat 2 Preliminaries
1 Amos Sang So Abilene Chrstn 14:32.45Q
2 Reuben Chebon-Mwei Jr Adams State 14:33.74Q
3 Brian Medigovich Sr Adams State 14:34.08Q
4 Jeff Weiss Sr Slippery Rock 14:34.62Q
5 Christopher Clark Sr Calif. U-Pa 14:37.52q
6 Luke Cragg Jr Adams State 14:40.29
7 Cleophas Tanui Jr Abilene Chrstn 14:43.29
8 Jordan Welling So Western Wash 14:53.67
|
| Tim Cannon and teammate Angel Marquez run among a fast field during the men’s 5,000m prelim.
|
You never want to approach a race thinking that you’re in too deep as far as the quality of the opponent and your chances to advance, but in the case of Tim Cannon and Angel Marquez I knew that we were in Really deep when comparing ourselves with what they were up against. It didn’t help that Angel hasn’t had a good race (Injury problems) since his 14:14 NCAA qualifier at the Stanford Invit in March. I’ll list what they were up against below to paint the grim picture that was…. Daniel Kirwa: 28:20’s 10k PR/14:00 5k, Won his second NCAA 10k title in row Thurs. Marko Chesetto: 14:02/29:0’s PR’s for 5k/10k. Tyler Pennel: 13:54 PR and running fresh Aaron Braun: 13:36 PR/ Numerous time NCAA Champ, XC runner-up to Bauhs Florian Theofile: 13:58 PR-Fresh Ian Donnan: 13:55 PR-Fresh Daniel Maina: 8:40 Steeple PR, ’08 steeple NCAA Champ/1:50 800m PR Angel Marquez: 14:14 PR Tim Cannon: 14:20 PR run at Oxy 2 weeks ago.
Tim and Angel geared up for the challenge ahead (Of course I did my best to paint a more positive picture than what’s written above J) . They went to the line with a mindset of beating as many people as they possibly could. Both ran among the pack for about 6-7 laps, before the varying paces and surges finally took their toll. The pair ran the last 1600m together trying their hardest (with no luck) to bring the lead pack back. Although the two ‘Cats finished at the bottom of their heat, they had done all that they could for as long as they were able but just fell short of the challenge that was, in trying to make the final. The early exit for Marquez signaled the end of his impressive collegiate running career at Chico State.
In his 4 years of collegiate running Angel has twice earned All American awards (1X Track and 1 X XC) with the highlight being his surprise NCAA runner-up finish in LA (his hometown/area) last spring. Although his senior year didn’t end with as much excitement, Angel has a lot to be proud of, and he’s been a big part of some amazing Wildcat performances. He also becomes the first from his family to graduate from college, and although he wasn’t able to walk on Saturday with his fellow graduates, he and his parents brought his cap and gown to Texas and took some grad photo’s-Texas Style!
The ‘Cats would have 3 athletes competing in 4 events today and after the rough day that teammates had on Friday, it was hoped that we could “correct the ship” a bit on Saturday. Sophomore Shannon McVannel would do an amazing job of getting this trio off to a rousing start with her run in the Steeple final on Saturday.
Women 3000 Meter Steeplechase
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Meet Record: # 10:20.42 5/24/2008 Winrose Karunde, Abilene Christian
Name Year School Finals
================================================================
Section 1 Finals
1 Mary Ballinger Jr So Indiana 10:22.98
2 Lisa Thomas Sr Western St 10:37.48
3 Danna Kelly Sr Truman State 10:53.02
4 Shannon McVannel So Chico St 10:53.57
5 Karla Alburez Sr Cal St LA 10:55.32
6 Kara Eckard Sr MO Southern 10:56.08
7 Janette Cary Jr Adams State 10:58.75
8 Tiffany Turner Sr Cal Poly Pomona 11:00.55
9 Megan Rolland Jr Humboldt State 11:12.61
10 Molly Clark Jr Augustana 11:22.79
11 Sarah Brassard Sr Mass - Lowell 11:37.75
|
| Shannon McVannel with 300m remaining, running in 4th place of the steeple behind Truman’s Dana Kelly before Shannon passed her into third place. CCAA runner-up Karla Alburez is seen just behind. |
The actual race couldn’t have gone much better or more-to-form than it actually did. From the gun Shannon settled to the back of the pack running the first 800m in 12th place out of 12 runners, but on the heels of the main pack. Pre race favorite Mary Ballinger of Southern Indiana took the pace out at a steady 10:15-10:20 clip and several athletes followed fairly closely through the first few laps. A very large pack of 8-9 followed strung out in a line that probably extended 20-30 meters by 1k. During the second kilometer Shannon slowly and methodically moved through the tiring runners ahead. A good hurdler and water jumper she moved past a fellow competitor coming out of the water or over a barrier on several occasions. Each pass was the final one as McVannel would immediately put her focus on the next group or athlete in her sights. By 2k Shannon ran in 6-7th place and on the heels of #4 and #5. Holding herself to moving forward and not settling Shannon worked into 4th place, and now ran on the heels of third place runner Dana Kelly of Truman State.
With 250m left in the race Shannon would pass Kelly over the penultimate hurdle and now ran in 3rd place overall heading into the final water jump. A string of top seeds ran on Kelly’s heels but no one appeared capable of kicking. Despite not really hammering the final 150m McVannel held her ground in third place and now eyed the final straight and one last hurdle. As Shannon approached the final barrier (approx 50m from the finish) Kelly appeared to be coming back to life and was starting to make up some time on the Chico soph. Shannon held her ground over the final barrier but lost the final 50meter dash to the finish to the senior from Truman. Given the Pre-Meet seed of 15th and the fact that she had only qualified (for NCAA’s) in her last meet of the year, Shannon was deservedly fine with the fourth place outcome. Her final 10:53.57 time was only a second off her PR, which was pretty good on this day. Very few if any athletes ran to PR’s in the steeples.
Men 3000 Meter Steeplechase
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Meet Record: # 8:36.84 5/26/2007 Nicodemus Naimadu, Abilene Chrstn
Name Year School Finals
================================================================
Section 1 Finals
1 Reuben Chebon-Mwei Jr Adams State 8:47.10
2 Daniel Maina Sr Abilene Chrstn 8:52.99
3 Loren Ahonen So Western St 9:01.92
4 Matt Schneider Sr Wayne State 9:05.82
5 Beau Rogers Jr Chico St 9:06.91
6 Tyler Emmorey So Grand Valley St 9:10.80
7 Chris Hammer Sr Grand Valley St 9:11.93
8 David Kiplagat Sr Alaska Anchorage 9:12.23
9 Jesse Evans So Saginaw Valley 9:20.80
10 Philip Biwott Fr Harding 9:21.11
11 Nick Hilton So Lock Haven 9:23.41
12 Skyler Delmott Jr Emporia State 9:39.75
|
| Beau Rogers running among the leaders of the steeple 1500m in. |
Playing his cards much the same as McVannel had earlier Wayne State’s Matt Schneider lurked in the back of the pack during the early laps, but ate up meters on Beau as Rogers slipped from the pack during the third kilometer. With 800m remaining the senior from Wayne State moved into fourth and Beau was starting to look quite drained from the aggressive early pace. Even though he took a number of looks back during the final 800m Beau held tight enough to hold on for the fifth place finish, and even made up a few of the seconds that Schneider had put on him. With the 5th place finish Beau earned his second All American certificate (to go with his XC version from the fall) and his first on the track. Beau also became Chico’s first male steeple All American in at least 20 years. This was a nice performance for Rogers who will eye the school record (8:55) next Spring and hopefully an even higher NCAA finish.
Men 1500 Meter Run
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Meet Record: # 3:38.91 5/23/1987 Kip Cheruiyot, Mt St Mary's
Name Year School Finals
================================================================
Section 1 Finals
1 Michael Crouch So Queens 3:49.83
2 Aaron Braun Sr Adams State 3:49.93
3 Michael Wickman Jr Chico St 3:50.69
4 Ryan McNiff So Adams State 3:52.30
5 Mack McLain Fr Colorado/Mines 3:53.15
6 Jared McNeil So Tarleton St 3:53.62
7 Mujahid Hassaballa Jr Pittsburg St 3:54.07
8 Michael Pierce Sr SW Baptist 3:54.26
9 Denise Mokaya Jr Minn St- Mankato 3:54.93
10 Rick Bogatay Jr Metro St/Den 3:58.29
11 Anthony Tomsich Jr Western Wash 3:59.20
12 Nathan Newland Jr Metro St/Den 4:04.21
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| Passing the bell it was Crouch #3, Braun #11, McNiff #5 and Wickman #8 fighting for the 1500m title. |
Surprisingly though, the pace was quite modest from the start and neither Crouch or Braun were near the front as the pack went through in a pedestrian 62 seconds. With a second lap that was no quicker than 66 (2:08 800m split) the pack was bunched badly and unfortunately Michael’s plan of following Braun’s steps throughout, forced him to do so while running in lane two for much of the early laps. Not having accounted for this scenario yours truly dropped the ball in not advising Wickman to stay closer to lane 1 in the early going. As expected Crouch did go first and he swung around the leaders during the turn with 550m remaining. Braun jumped from the pack to cover his move and Wickman followed Braun along with Braun’s teammate Ryan McNiff (3:42 Altitude Conversion PR) who had the rail going down the straight toward the bell. As Wickman sprinted down the straight and through the bell McNiff did a wonderful job of running the Junior from Chico into the outside of lane 1 through the turn. Finally down the backstretch Michael put McNiff behind him and trailed the pair ahead by a stride or two. It appeared that somewhere between 200m to go and the top of the turn on the homestretch Wickman tightened up and lost a few valuable steps to the leaders ahead. While Braun and Crouch rounded the final turn running stride for stride Wickman appeared out of contention. A big surge from 100m out to the line brought Michael closer but just short of winning and he eased through the line a disappointed third place overall and well ahead of McNiff who held on for 4th. Crouch who didn’t run a prelim the day before like Wickman (1:50-800) and Braun (5k-14:29) played his cards perfectly to claim his first outdoor title.
As Michael walked to the side of the track where several congratulatory teammates waited (along with yours truly) I reminded Michael that the silver lining in such a tactical race was that he had only run a hard 500m, and that the tactical race would hopefully allow for a better chance at winning the 800m in 90 minutes. With that, Michael set his focus on the 800m and Anthony Luna the defending Indoor 800m Champ and last year’s NCAA runner-up.
Men 800 Meter Run
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Meet Record: # 1:46.81 5/25/1979 Dan Futrell, Truman State
Name Year School Finals
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Section 1 Finals
1 Anthony Luna Jr Metro St/Den 1:49.26
2 Andrew Graham Fr Adams State 1:49.76
3 Michael Wickman Jr Chico St 1:49.82
4 Nick Maynard Sr Colorado/Mines 1:51.16
5 Shawn Lindbom So Metro St/Den 1:51.86
6 Shawn Etzenhouser Jr SW Baptist 1:51.91
7 Johnny Shuping Jr St Augustine's 1:52.13
8 Alan Schmitz Sr North Georgia 1:52.34
The race went out with SW Baptist’s Shawn Etzenhouser taking the pace from the front. With the pace honest enough to string the pack out Luna settled into second overall with Wickman on the rail (thank goodness) right on the Metro runner’s heels. At the bell Etzenhouser had 2 strides on Luna and Wickman but Michael understood that Luna would definitely catch and pass Etzenhouser. The plan worked perfectly with Luna making the pass as the pack entered the final turn. As Wickman made his way by the struggling Etzenhouser he seemed to lose a bit of momentum and now Luna had a clear lead by 1-2 stride lengths. Hitting the final stretch Adams’ Graham caught and pulled even with Wickman who wanted nothing to do with another third place finish. The pair sprinted down the final stretch, neither able to take Luna who would indeed earn his first outdoor NCAA title. Unfortunately Graham out-leaned Wickman for second place at the line.
Michael wasn’t very happy with the result but he had a lot to be proud of. He had run a very smart and tough race and had broken the 1:50 mark for the third time this season and for the second time after running a 1500m on the same day. Ironically Michael’s 12 team points earned with the two 3rd place finishes outscored NCAA athlete of the year Braun’s 2nd and 7th place finishes in the 15/5k double. Either way Michael has come a long way since missing the 800m final two years ago and finishing 7th in the 1500m final. With a final year of eligibility remaining and the experience gained in this year’s championships you can bet that Wickman will be back next year faster and stronger.