Six-pack of Wildcat men & women attain national qualifying standard
It’s been several weeks since I’ve updated our faithful followers on the pursuits of the Distance ‘Cats and I’m sorry for this absence of results and insight. Computer problems and a busy schedule have been the root of the difficulty but I will do my best to catch everyone back up on the season that is in progress. Two weeks ago we took a partial squad to the Aggie Invitational in Davis and enjoyed some success at the 1500m and steeple distances. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day was Jessica Brieno’s 11:18 Provisional mark for the steeple (20 second PR!), along with David Wellman’s 3:55 for 1500m. Sophomore Jessica McVanell also posted a nice early season 11:07 for the women’s steeple, which puts her on the NCAA list as well. In the men’s 1500m Wellman led 8 ‘Cats to sub 4:06 marks with Tim Cannon breaking the 4 minute barrier for the first time ever.
Men 3000 Meter Steeplechase Jim Shettler
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Name Year School Seed Finals
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1 Rogers, Beau JR Chico State 9:10.00 9:05.87
2 Leslie, Cory FR Ohio State 9:06.92 9:12.63
3 Garcia, Jose SR Chico State 9:27.00 9:13.28
4 Green, Adam SO Ohio State 9:01.24 9:17.23
5 Olinger, Christopher SO Ohio State 9:04.76 9:20.08
6 Machado, Michael FR Unattached 9:18.00 9:47.32
7 Marquardt, Will San Francisco 9:48.48
8 Rottich, Paul JR Alaska Anchorage 9:40.68 9:51.08
9 Le, Nhuguyen FR Santa Clara 10:01.19 9:52.93
10 Stiles, David SR St. Mary's (Cal. 10:15.00 9:55.48
11 Setser, Thomas FR San Mateo 10:29.62 10:23.18
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| Breakthroughs are special. Pictured here are good friends and teammates Jose Garcia and Beau Rogers after they won the “dual meet” with Ohio State in the Steeple. |
The ‘Cats would sent two steeplers to the line on Friday in San Francisco. Jose Garcia and Beau Rogers. Neither Rogers or Garcia had broken the 9:30 barrier before this weekend but both had shown potential in workouts and in races at other distances. Both spent much of last track season on the shelf with sickness, so their 9:32/9:35 PR’s dated back to the ’07 season when Rogers was at Hartnell College and Garcia at Sac State (Jose transferred to Chico from Sac State last year). The top three seeds in the field on Saturday were from Ohio State University. OSU’s head coach Robert Gary who was an Olympian in the event for the U.S. several years ago isn’t fond of the Stanford meets, so he brought his top steeplers to SF in search of solid early season marks. Given that Beau had been sick much of last week and Garcia had only run 9:40’s in his first steeple this season at the Gator Preview, I wasn’t sure how much competition we’d provide the Buckeyes on this day.
Much to my surprise and delight both Garcia and Rogers looked great running stride for stride with the OSU crew for the first 1600m. Announcer JT Service even remarked at one point that there appeared to be a dual meet between Chico State and Ohio State at the front of the race. With every lap that the two ‘Cats ran with the OSU guys, their confidence grew and sensing that the pace had slowed after 2k, Rogers bolted around the 2 leading OSU runners to drop the pace back down into the low 70’s. From 650m out, Rogers ran a 70 second 400 over the barriers and had pulled clear from the pack. If he could stay on his feet the final 250 he’d have a huge PR, but coaches of this event never take this for granted (staying on the feet) as the barriers combined with a foggy mind can spell disaster. Thankfully Beau would indeed sail over the final barriers successfully and the Junior from Watsonville would record a very impressive 9:05 winning mark. Even more surprising was the run of Garcia who had dropped one Buckeye and was battling the front two for second place over the final 2 laps. Garcia hurdled the final water jump and gained a slight advantage over Cory Leslie of OSU. Garcia sprinted down the final stretch in second place with a slim lead over Leslie, until he nicked the final barrier, stumbled, regained his momentum and continued toward the finish. The miscue allowed Leslie to move into second, and Garcia maintained his third place position to the line.
This performance by Garcia had to be the biggest jaw dropper of the day. His 9:13 finish time was a huge breakthrough for the senior and could not have happened to a more deserving athlete. Jose came into the school year in the best fitness of his life, only to break his foot during a run at camp this summer. Garcia missed the entire XC season and dedicated his training since, toward the track season that’s upon us. Garcia cried tears of joy after the race and all of his teammates and coaches were eager to congratulate him. With this run Rogers and Garcia both stepped into the All time CSUC list knocking two “Old Timers” off the charts. Tom Olsen ’79 the distance coach at Enterprise HS and Noah Marcus (former CSUC Assistant and current PHD candidate at U of Wisconsin) were nudged off the performance charts. Beau’s mark was also an Automatic qualifier for NCAA’s while Garcia was well under the 9:26 provisional standard and only 4 seconds off the 9:09 Auto standard.
Women 5000 Meter Run Anna Bretan
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Name Year School Seed Finals
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1 Keene, Ellie FR California 17:15.00 17:11.06
2 Lubieniecki, Kara SO Chico State 17:10.00 17:23.76
3 Ties, Paige JR Iowa State 17:32.21 17:24.41
4 Gray, Alia FR Chico State 17:35.00 17:25.05
5 Davis, Micky FR California 17:20.00 17:34.28
6 Sly, Kirsten FR Southern Utah 17:20.00 17:36.85
7 Torres, Mary Unattached 17:58.00 17:37.45
8 Dutch, Taylor FR California 17:40.00 17:38.02
9 Medina, Diana SO Southern Utah 17:25.00 17:39.21
10 Plunkett, Natty FR Seattle Pacific 17:50.00 17:46.69
11 Wilt, Hallidie SO Alaska Anchorage 17:59.68 17:48.10
12 Caruso, Stephanie FR West Virginia 17:35.00 17:53.94
13 Hutchison, Bradi FR Idaho State 18:05.75 17:54.63
14 Bedford, Sylvia FR Southern Utah 17:40.00 17:55.41
15 McVannel, Shannon SO Chico State 17:50.00 17:59.39
16 Campbell, Nicole West Valley TC 17:35.00 18:01.17
17 Olpin, Madalyn SO Southern Utah 17:50.00 18:09.43
18 Smith, Kierann Impala Racing Te 18:30.00 18:13.96
19 Nelson, Lindsay Asics Aggies 17:15.00 18:17.17
20 Harline, Kate JR Seattle Pacific 18:06.00 18:27.03
21 Kipngeno, Miriam FR Alaska Anchorage 18:30.22 18:27.94
22 Keegan, Shoshana FR Alaska Anchorage 18:45.00 18:30.14
23 Webb, Natalie FR Eastern Michigan 17:30.00 18:39.48
24 Lai, Flora Impala Racing Te 18:30.00 18:44.57
25 Racine, Samantha FR Chico State 17:59.99 18:46.43
26 Mendez, Ana unatt 18:45.00 18:50.23
27 Giove, Nicole FR Santa Clara 18:14.06 18:56.51
28 Henker, Paige Unnat 19:15.00 19:05.83
29 Manzo, Silvia SR Humboldt State 19:30.00 19:14.23
30 Nelson, Jessica SO Chico State 18:25.00 19:17.34
31 garcia, grecia 5 Unattached 19:30.00 19:22.64
32 Gigliotti, Sara Impala Racing Te 19:10.00 19:28.44
33 Ribble, Karen Impala Racing Te 18:58.00 19:32.86
34 Correa, Denisse JR Academy of Art 19:39.58 19:37.14
35 Stiers, Hailey SO UC Santa Cruz 19:20.00 19:53.24
36 Toth, Cynthia SO UC Santa Cruz 19:20.00 20:06.82
37 Ferriera, Tanya SO San Francisco St 19:15.00 20:22.82
38 Arzate, Dominga SO Hartnell 19:45.00 20:23.35
39 Zack, Jenna SR St. Mary's (Cal. 19:45.00 20:32.83
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Women’s 5,000m: The women’s 5,000m was a very exciting race to watch as a very talented field was assembled on this day. Leading the way for the ‘Cats was Kara Lubieniecki who had run 17:23 in the earlier SF meet and was in search of a bigger mark. RS Frosh Alia Gray had run 17:59 a year ago and was shooting for something in the 17:30’s, while Sophomore Shannon McVanell was looking to get under 18 minutes for the first time. True frosh Samantha Racine was hoping to dip under her 18:19 PR set several weeks ago, as was Jessica Nelson who ran 18:46 at the Gator Preview. From the gun Lubieniecki ran among the lead pack usually tucked in the second or third position overall reaching 1600m in a swift 5:29 mark. Gray followed in a second group, but not far behind at 5:35ish. In the second mile Lubieniecki lost a few spots but hung onto the main group, while teammate Gray was picking up steam moving from the pack that she had run among for the initial 4 laps. By 3200m Lubieniecki ran in 4th-5th overall at 11:06 while Gray followed closely at 11:08. As Gray passed the tiring Lubieniecki the two worked together to move forward into the first group. One by one tiring runners fell from the front group and with 2 laps remaining Gray ran in second overall with Kara on her heels in third. When it comes to finishing kicks, it’s tough to match Lubieniecki who really opened up in the final 300m to seal a solid second place finish. Gray, not quite as “speed gifted”, lost a few strides to her teammate and lost a dual with Iowa State’s Paige Ties in the final 100m. Any disappointment that Gray might have had due to losing this kick was quelled when she saw the final time. Her 17:25 was a 34 second improvement and was an NCAA provisional qualifying mark! Shannon McVanell became the fifth ‘Cat this season to dip under the 18 minute barrier with her 17:59 PR. Samantha Racine and Jessica Nelson didn’t fare quite as well as each struggled to some degree while finishing in 18:46 and 19:17. All Time Implications: From 1987 to the year 2000 Suzie Hansen enjoyed the status of school record holder for the 5,000m event. A lot has happened in the ten years since Jenny Spoon eclipsed Hansen’s mark 10 years ago, and on Friday RS Frosh Alia Gray replaced Hansen’s name with her own as the tenth fastest ‘Cat all time for the 12.5 lapper. Perhaps more impressive is the fact that the ‘Cats now have 4 women on the team who have run between 17:22 and 17:25!!! These are marks that have in years past, always earned spots at the NCAA meet. Alum Watch: Watchful eyes might recognize a few familiar names below. Numerous time All American and mother of 2 Mary Torres enjoyed her fastest 5k in two years (17:37). Former All Region XC runner Lindsay Nelson now competing for the Asics Aggies also ran a very respectable 18:17 on Friday. Her fiancé Tim Tollefson was just accepted into the Physical Therapy program at Sac State University for the Fall so Congrats Tim and Lindsay! |
Men 5000 Meter Run Bill Bailey
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Name Year School Seed Finals
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1 Ealy, John SR Ohio State 14:07.21 14:09.41
2 Weese, Lyle Unattached 14:20.03 14:10.46
3 Kloos, Thomas SR adidas Transport 14:02.00 14:10.51
4 Kimutai, Philemon SO Wyoming 14:35.32 14:27.81
5 Sodaro, Steve JR California 14:31.90 14:28.72
6 Chavez, Chris Transports adida 14:14.61 14:31.35
7 Balyo, Chad JR Ohio State 14:06.31 14:34.83
8 Elam, Jimmy JR Chico State 14:25.00 14:35.12
9 Charlesworth, Jonathan WVTC 14:43.00 14:35.88
10 Cannon, Tim SO Chico State 14:20.00 14:37.21
11 Tapia, Daniel SO Hartnell 14:50.45 14:39.47
12 Williams, Taylor FR Ohio State 14:19.34 14:40.41
13 Bor, Garbileg San Francisco 14:44.32
14 Scanlon, Brendan SO Chico State 14:25.00 14:46.06
15 Zapata, Lenin SR Unattached 14:41.00 14:48.32
16 Murphy-Baum, Ben SO Iowa State 14:50.92 14:52.03
17 Laverty, Keith SR UO Running Club 14:59.00 14:52.42
18 Marchdich, Daveson JR Academy of Art 15:15.00 14:56.72
19 Miller, Matt H. SO California 14:35.32 14:56.88
20 Linen, Joshua FR Chico State 15:05.00 14:57.75
21 Rath, Joe JR Southern Oregon 14:59.92 14:58.77
22 Grimes, Bennett SO Unat-Western Was 14:40.84 14:59.58
23 Malain, Eric SO Humboldt State 15:05.00 15:02.07
24 Reid, Robbie SO Santa Clara 14:50.00 15:04.44
25 Himmelberger, Scott JR Unattached 14:58.00 15:04.84
26 McFall, Zach SO Iowa State 15:09.94 15:05.04
27 Sylvester, Andrew FR Humboldt State 15:05.00 15:06.18
28 Zunich, Jory JR Iowa State 14:34.28 15:06.38
29 Grossman, Seth SO Wyoming 15:17.49 15:06.55
30 Ghelfi, Ryan SO Southern Oregon 15:12.81 15:06.95
31 Huff, Austin FR Humboldt State 15:20.00 15:07.82
32 Maru, Amos JR Academy of Art 15:12.00 15:12.20
33 Diaz, Art Team Lets Go!! 14:51.00 15:12.56
34 Dunbar, Miles Chico State 15:15.00 15:21.12
35 Mosier, Dave SR Team Run 4 Fun C 15:15.00 15:21.76
36 Sorenson, Ryan FR Southern Oregon 15:29.32 15:22.72
37 Buscho, David Unattached 14:57.99 15:34.09
38 Ellis, Auston SR Alaska Anchorage 15:25.00 15:36.68
39 Shea, Nick SR St. Mary's (Cal. 15:15.00 15:37.96
40 Montoya, Jose SO San Mateo 15:54.19 15:41.49
41 Diaz, Fernando FR CCSF 15:20.00 15:43.12
42 Brookshire, Shane JR Csu Stanislaus 15:35.00 15:43.78
43 Esparza, Manuel FR Hartnell 16:30.00 15:45.83
44 Raya, Ryan Gator Track 15:29.00 15:48.29
45 Van Wyck, Robb FR St. Mary's (Cal. 15:45.00 15:49.26
46 Fernandez, Max SO San Francisco St 15:39.00 15:51.24
47 Wagner, Matt FR Unat-Santa Clara 15:30.00 15:52.04
48 Becerra, Brandon SO San Mateo 16:22.32 15:54.31
49 Wipf, Alex FR Western Washingt 15:49.00 15:54.51
50 Gerber, Christopher SO CCSF 15:20.00 15:55.24
51 Fisher, Brian JR Santa Clara 15:40.00 15:58.81
52 Gutierrez, Abel FR Humboldt State 16:15.00 16:01.22
53 Castro, Joseph SO Hartnell 16:17.57 16:03.63
54 Aleman, Hector SO Hartnell 15:42.51 16:04.27
55 Garboden, Steve San Francisco 16:08.78
56 Brown, Dan FR California 16:00.00 16:12.73
57 Torgun, George New Balance Exce 15:45.00 16:16.76
58 Calcagno, Mike SO Santa Clara 15:55.00 16:17.22
59 Sigei, Cornelious SR Alaska Anchorage 15:25.00 16:19.19
60 Gonzalez, Humberto SR Humboldt State 15:45.00 16:23.19
61 Gomez, Marcos SR Unattached 15:55.00 16:27.13
62 Savage, Matt FR Santa Clara 16:01.00 16:29.17
63 Jones, Austin FR Santa Clara 15:40.00 16:29.30
64 Corvera, Luis SO Hartnell 16:18.91 16:31.92
65 Farhki, Hamza FR San Mateo 16:30.00 16:35.75
66 Pilcher, Brian Tamalpa 15:47.00 16:39.21
67 Willers, Benny FR CCSF 16:14.00 16:39.66
68 Setser, Thomas FR San Mateo 16:17.22 16:48.96
69 Urista, David FR CCSF 16:14.55 16:49.86
70 Alban, Brad SO St. Mary's (Cal. 16:30.00 16:50.35
71 Kissin, Roy Tamalpa 16:44.00 17:00.53
72 Bretan, Mark FR Academy of Art 16:15.00 17:03.24
73 Baltzley, Chadd FR William Jessup 16:28.00 17:09.93
-- Perez, McDouglas Unattached 15:30.00 NT
DNF: Manny Mejia Chico
DNF: Matt LoForte Chico
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Men’s 5,000m: The men’s 5k was much like the women’s, very fast and very well represented by schools from across the nation. The ‘Cats sent a solid group of competitors to the line in hopes of PR’s and for some, NCAA marks. Assistant Coach Pat Boivin led a group of Chico State men who were searching for 14:30ish type marks through splits just under 70 seconds per lap. Jimmy Elam, Tim Cannon and Brendan Scanlon sailed through 1600m on Boivin’s heels in 4:36 and the trio reached 3200m in 9:15-9:18 having strung out a bit. Elam pressed hard, but back to back 72 second laps moved him too far from pace to dip under the 14:30 mark by the finish. Despite a small fade over the final 1600m Elam, Cannon and Scanlon each notched small PR’s for the distance. Jimmy’s run moved him to #9 All Time on the CSUC list, knocking off recent alum Chris Eggers and just ahead of now #10 Pat Stordahl. Look out Pat as Cannon/Scanlon are both Sophomores!!! Running in the second heat was RS frosh Josh Linen and Miles Dunbar. Each enjoyed nice PR’s with their runs in SF on Friday. Linen played his hand perfectly narrowly missing the win losing a sprint finish with Kenyan Daveson Marchdich. Josh’s 14:57 time was his first sub 15 and given several gaps in his training due to slight injuries, Josh should have plenty of room for improvement this season. Dunbar recorded very even splits while lowering his PR from the 15:40 range to 15:21 (a nice step forward!). |
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| Josh Linen leads Kenyan Davison Marchdich with 200m to go as both lap a Santa Clara runner. Linen would finish second in his heat with his first sub 15 min 5k.
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Women 10000 Meter Run I McLoughlin
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Name Year School Seed Finals
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1 Wells, Brooke Impala Racing Te 35:00.00 35:17.44
2 Lindell, Kate Impala Racing Te 36:00.00 35:21.74
3 Bretan, Anna Tamalpa 35:15.00 36:54.83
4 Porter, Whitney SR Santa Clara 37:10.00 37:14.77
5 Visser, Maggie Impala Racing Te 37:20.00 37:28.33
6 Lopez, Noelle SR Santa Clara 37:10.00 37:54.88
7 Rich, Shannon SO Chico State 37:30.00 38:35.83
8 Joyce, Colleen JR Chico State 37:30.00 38:49.32
9 Weeks, Jonah FR Chico State 37:27.00 38:49.48
10 Hart, Katie SR Seattle Pacific 39:46.00 39:52.08
11 Sandoval, Angie JR Mills College 39:35.15 40:20.00
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| Jonah Weeks (frosh from Davis HS) leads teammates Colleen Joyce and Shannon Rich early in the women’s 10k.
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Chico would send three women to the line for the women’s 10k today. Temperatures were a bit warm as the race was run at the warmest point of day unfortunately and this seemed to show, as most athletes ran below what their 5k PR’s might indicate (all teams included). For Shannon Rich and Jonah Weeks this would be their maiden voyage over the 25 lap distance and for Junior Colleen Joyce, it was her second such venture (39:20 @CCAA’08). The plan was for the trio to work together around 90 second pace per lap for as long as they could hold. Their recent 5k pr’s indicated such fitness, but of course the conditions were perfect for the 5 And it wasn’t their first 5k. Early splits did hover around the 90 second mark with a few 89’s and 91’s. The trio hit 5k around 19 minutes but the pace was taking it’s toll. 90’s turned into 92’s and the pain showed on their faces. Around the half way point Weeks ran by the coaches holding her side (an obvious stitch). A lap later she showed the same body language so her coaches asked her to step off the track, knowing there was little chance for her to shake the stitch without stopping. She quickly put one finger up (her index finger thankfully) and asked if she could do another lap while trying to shake the ailing side. In the process Joyce and Rich had formed a 50—60 meter lead on Weeks who now ran alone. Four Hundred meters later Jonah ran by looking much better and composed again (Game On!). Somewhere in the final 2k Colleen Joyce lost contact with Rich, and now we had three athletes running almost equal distances apart. Jonah was in the first 10k of her life, but the frosh realized a lot during this effort…. Pain, patience, bad patches, poise, difficult range of motion… Jonah definitely enjoyed them all. Given their relative lack of experience at the distance all three enjoyed solid outings as each finished well stopping the clock well before 39 minutes.
Men 10000 Meter Run Mike Fanelli
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Name Year School Seed Finals
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1 Carper, Clayton SO Iowa State 31:31.13 30:38.06
2 Riak, John SR St. Martin's 30:30.00 31:04.33
3 Van Santen, Kyle FR St. Martin's 30:30.00 31:11.83
4 Solis, Anthony Unnat-Boivin 30:55.00 31:15.14
5 Campos, Alan JR Chico State 31:15.00 31:35.98
6 Whitcomb, Thomas JR Chico State 30:52.00 31:58.53
7 Gomez, Juan JR Holy Names 32:10.00 32:17.76
8 Frazier, Luke FR CCSF 33:00.00 33:07.61
9 Jimenez, Julio SO Chico State 31:50.00 33:12.05
10 Cook, Sloane FR CCSF 33:00.00 34:15.00
11 Harvey, Nicholas SO St. Martin's 33:00.00 34:55.02
12 Cuadra, Sam Gator Track 34:40.00 35:05.63
13 Deveyra, Joal FR San Mateo 35:00.00 35:13.60
14 Fujitsubo, Kyle SO San Francisco St 33:00.00 37:18.02
15 Aguirre, Juan JR William Jessup 34:52.00 37:18.08
Whew, I can’t sugar coat this one…. We had hoped for a Much better showing from this group on Friday. The ‘Cats would send no less than 7 runners to the line on Saturday. Six of the seven have run 8k’s in Bidwell Park (team time trials) at nearly 5 minute pace and two had run a full 10k in the park in under 5:05 pace per mile. We had hoped to get a good number of these guys in the 31 minute flat range. Red shirting frosh Adrian Sherrod who is rounding into shape nicely after a winter injury was to take the group through 16 laps at around 74-75 seconds per lap. Early on the pace was dead-on with Sherrod leading a solid group through 1600 in the 4:57 range, and 3200m @ 9:55-:57ish. During the third mile the pace and temps showed on several faces as Whitcomb and a few others were already “going to the well” to stay among the pack. The 5k mark was struck right at 5 minute pace, but it was obvious that several of the guys weren’t going to hang with this tempo. Even as our rabbit (Sherrod) slowed a few laps to 76 (his hip was bugging him) guys were sliding off the pace. When Sherrod stepped the pace back to a 74, only Alan Campos, Anthony Solis and Joey Kochlacs were able to respond. Not able to produce the splits that he’d been assigned to any longer Sherrod left the track after 14 laps.
At this point Solis and Kochlacs traded laps in an attempt to keep the rhythm at the desired pace. Somewhere in the 8th Kilometer Alex Sharp left the track, and just after the 8k mark, so did Kochlacs. Most of those who were still competing had slowed fairly dramatically so the scene was definitely not a pretty one. Ironically it was true frosh Anthony Solis running in his first ever race beyond the 12.5 lap distance who was able to stick with the goal pace. Solis would lose a battle for third place with St Martin’s Van Santen, but his 31:15 is one of the quickest true frosh times for the distance in our school’s history including Scott Bauhs who ran in the 31:20’s as a red shirting frosh. Veteran 10k guy Jeff Wilson who has been All CCAA for the 25 lap distance did a great job of holding his momentum throughout the race and recorded a solid 31:35 mark. Soph Alan Campos running in his first 10k cracked the 32 minute barrier with his 31:58 time. Thomas Whitcomb struggled today, but stuck with the game-plan and finished 7th overall with his 32:17 time. Alex Sharp and Joey Kochlacs both DNF’d in their first attempt at the distance. Kochlacs apparently strained a tendon on the outside of his leg during the effort . Despite the somewhat dismal result as a whole, I’m optimistic that there is a lot of potential among this group looking ahead to future 10k’s on the track.