It was an exciting trip to Walnut this weekend for the fifteen competing Wildcats who participated in the Mt Sac Relays. All told 15 Chico State distance runners (including 3 red-shirts) took to the track during the Thursday/Friday distance carnival action. Of the 15 competing ‘Cats, Ten ran Lifetime Bests, Thirteen ran at least NCAA provisional marks, Three ran NCAA Automatic Marks, and Twelve recorded times that were better than at least the Tenth best all time in CSUC history for their respective event going into the weekend. It was definitely a productive trip to Southern California for this talented crew. As I did in the SF/Stanford weekend, I’ll start by listing the Names, Events, and Marks posted by the Chico State competitors. I’ll then give a brief summary of each race and will include video links to the races that are saved on Flotrack’s website.

Note: I highly recommend viewing the two 1500m performances from this weekend on Flotrack. Awesome races for Wickman and Lubieniecki. Here are the links: 

 
We’ll start with the Automatic NCAA Qualifiers first:

Jimmy Elam(Sr) 		Men’s 10k  	29:38.21  	#2 All Time CSUC, Fourth ‘Cat to break 30!
Tori Tyler (Jr)  	Women’s 5k    	16:29.76  	#2 All Time CSUC, missed school record by 4 sec
Michael Wickman (Sr) 	Men’s 1500m   	 3:44.03  	seasonal best-misses PR by .5 seconds!
 
NCAA Provisional Marks

Beau Rogers (Sr)	Men’s 5k 	14:16.11            #5 All Time CSUC
Tim Cannon (Jr)		Men’s 5k 	14:37.32        First race since mid XC season (injuries)
 
Brent Handa (Jr) 	Men’s 10k  	30:28.27            #9 All Time CSUC
Joey Kochlacs (So) 	Men’s 10k    	30:28.47            #10 All Time CSUC
 
Kara Lubieniecki (Jr) 	Women’s 1500   	 4:31.99            #3 All Time CSUC
Julie Shaw (Sr) 	Women’s 10k  	35:56.84            #5 All Time CSUC
Shannon Rich (Jr)       Women’s 10k   	36:28.41            #8 All Time CSUC
 
Other Performers to Note:
 
Jordan Fairley (Sr) 	Men’s Steeple	9:28.78   (First race since Mid XC-Injuries)
 
Red Shirts Who competed at Mt Sac:
 
Anthony Solis (RsFr)  	Men’s 10k    	29:57.06
Isaac Chavez (True Frosh) Men’s 10k    	30:19.29 (Fastest True Fr in CSUC History)
Shannon McVannel 	Women’s Steeple 11:13.78 (Fell during race & finished with both laces untied)
... one of those days!

Race Summaries:
Men’s Open Collegiate Steeple: If one was to scroll down the results of the men’s steeple, last place finisher Jordan Fairley’s performance probably wouldn’t stand out to most as a great moment for this athlete. However given Jordan’s situation this certainly is not the case. Over the summer months Jordan rolled an ankle quite badly and re-rolled it several times more in the months to follow. By mid XC season Jordan was dealing with terrible pains on the outside of his lower leg that were eventually diagnosed as a torn muscle from the outer and upper end of his fibula. Apparently the rolled ankles had taken their toll and actually stretched the muscle so much, that it literally ripped from the bone. Doctors orders were to stop running completely for several months.

With his departure we lost a Top-5 XC performer from our past XC season, and an NCAA caliber steepler from our track roster (Jordan ran 9:11 as a soph). In any event, things have slowly progressed to the point where Jordan has just began to handle workouts and 45 miles a week of volume. Given the short timeline left in the season it was decided to give the Mt Sac race a try and we used his 9:11 PR from two seasons ago to gain entry into the meet. Despite minimal preparation Jordan ran beautifully in his steeple heat, trailing the main pack the entire race, but measuring his effort so that he didn’t go over the edge at any point. The end result (9:28) is a great seasonal debut and places him only 14-15 seconds from a time that would usually go to the NCAA meet. If more continuity of training can be achieved in the coming weeks, Jordan will be one to watch as he chases his dreams over the final week’s of his senior season!

Men’s Olympic Development 10K: It was only 2 track seasons ago, that red shirting Soph Jimmy Elam finally broke the 15 minute barrier for the first time in the 5K event. Two seasons later Elam had his sights set on running back to back sub 15’s! A slowish first lap of 74-75 quickly turned into a much faster pace as the leaders surged ahead to a 69-70 second lap. This quick pace change caught Junior Brent Handa by surprise, as he let the pack go, while teammates Jimmy Elam and Anthony Solis covered the move and went with the huge pack toward the front. By 1600m a small group of three had broken away-running 69-70 pace, while a large contingent rolled through the metric mile somewhere between 4:45 and 4:50. Elam ran at the front of this chase pack with Solis tucked in around 20th place overall. Meanwhile Handa was left leading a group of three through the first 3 miles running a pace that was just off what the main pack ahead had been running. Elam took turns at the front of the chase pack with Adams’ Edwin Cruz and several others helping to keep the chase pack in the 71 second pace rhythm.

With a 30:03 PR to his credit Elam’s first goal was to break the 30 minute barrier, but his bigger goal was to dip into the 29:30’s. With a strong second half and a nice kick at the end Elam almost won the battle of the chase pack had it not been for post collegiate standout Kevin Pool of Sacramento (a 2:22 marathon runner). Red Shirt Anthony Solis finished hard over the final 400m to secure his first sub 30 minute run, while teammate Brent Handa also notched a huge PR with his 30:28 mark. It has to be noted that if Handa had covered the early surge of the pack, his final result most likely would have been far different. It’s just too bad you only have 1 good opportunity a season at the 10k distance. Men’s Olympic Development Heat http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/236734/326534

Men’s Collegiate Open 10K: Junior Brendan Scanlon, Sophomore Joey Kochlacs and true Frosh Isaac Chavez rolled through 5k well within a solid pack of runners as each passed the half-way point in a fairly swift 15:07-:08 split. Several laps later Scanlon fell quickly from the group and within a lap or two more, he had stepped off the track with apparent breathing problems. Kochlacs and Chavez carried on, and despite some slowing, recorded 8k Pr’s of 24:12 and 24:20 en route to final time PR’s as well. Joey’s 30:28 time represents a 2:00 PR! While Isaac’s mark stands as the fastest that a true frosh at CSUC has ever run. Given that Isaac is red shirting, it will be quite fun to see what the following years have in store for the talented young athlete. Video Link-Men’s Open 10k http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/236734/326552

Women’s Collegiate Open 10k: Both Wildcat women in this race are great stories of improvement. Senior Julie Shaw has endured almost every set-back known to mankind during her 5 years at CSUC, and the end result has left her short of what she knew she could do if given the right set of circumstances. A year ago after recording a huge PR in the 5k event (17:23), Shaw had set her sights on qualifying for the NCAA meet at the 10K distance. Unfortunately, a trip to the emergency room to remove her appendix interceded and cost her this opportunity. She had to lower the bar and settle for a lesser 37 minute run at the CCAA meet to finish her season. Now as a senior Julie stepped to the line prepped for the opportunity to go after the sub 36 minute mark that would give her a chance at ending her final season at the NCAA meet.

Teammate Shannon Rich started this season with a 5K best of 18:10, but has subsequently lowered that to 17:38, which gave her good confidence in going after her 38:16 PR. From the start Julie and Shannon placed themselves among packs that appeared to be moving at their desired paces. Julie clipped off 86’s quite consistently while passing through the half way point in a swift 17:58 split. Shannon rolled through the 5k in 18:10ish, which of course Was her PR for the 5k coming into this season. Thankfully Shannon didn’t let this piece of info deter her from an aggressive second half to the race. Julie’s toughness and grit helped her pull away from a number of very decorated athletes including Western Washington’s Lauren Breihof who won the SF Distance Carnival 5k earlier in the season (17:11 PR). With almost dead even splits per half, Julie hit the tape with a fifth place finish and nearly 2 minutes better than her previous lifetime best. Rich closed well over the final half also, dropping her PR from 38:16 to 36:24! Shannon’s average 5k pace for the 10k tonight was nearly her PR during her sophomore season in ’09! A great effort by both Wildcat women!

Friday Morning Sections:
Women's 1500m: Junior Kara Lubieniecki dropped her 1500m at the end of the 2009 season to a very nice 4:34 PR at the Oxy Invitational. Outside of an early season rust buster type effort Kara hadn’t run another until she stepped to the line on Friday at Mt Sac. Running what was tactically brilliant effort, Kara cruised through early splits of 73 seconds per lap saving her energy for the final lap. With a lap to go, Kara had latched herself onto the heels of Swedish standout Pernilla Savestrand of University of Texas San Antonio. As Kara approached the final bend she made her final move around Savestrand, and for those who have followed Kara and her final 100m kicks, the rest was history! In fact, I’d highly recommend watching the race for yourself if you can find the 4.5 minutes of your day to do so. It’s a pretty sweet finishing sprint to the line! Kara’s blazing final 100 carried her to the tape in a nice 4:31.99 PR and makes her the third fastest 1500m runner in our school’s history, just bumping ahead of three time All American Jenny Spoon. Also of note was Kara’s final 400m split, which was clocked in 69 seconds.

Kara’s 1500m Link: http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/236734/326620

Men’s 1500m-Olympic Development In my last second pre-meet update I mentioned the injury problems that took Senior Michael Wickman out of a fair amount of early March training. The result had been a very disappointing finish at the Stanford Invite (3:57) and a step back from racing the event until the Mt Sac meet. Thankfully Michael’s return to racing was a very successful one as the Senior from Walnut Creek followed a pack of swift moving athletes through early splits of 60, 2:00, and 3:01 before the race really got under-way. As nearly everyone in the Very talented field (including Hayden McLaren a 3:57 miler from Providence) scrambled for position Wickman held his spot on the rail around the final turn. A competitors foot tripped Wickman up for a split second as he rounded the final turn, but his momentum quickly returned toward the tape again as he bulleted down the final stretch. If you had time to check out Kara’s finish you HAVE to watch Michael’s race as well. His final 100m is a thing of beauty. I won’t spoil the fun, but watch the guy roll up lane 1 down the final stretch. Michael’s final 300m was clocked in 42.7 and his final time of 3:44.03 is his second fastest time ever and the #2 time in DII this year.

Wickman’s 1500m Video Link: http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/236734/326881

Women’s 5,000m: Junior Tori Tyler has enjoyed her first season of un-interupted training since high school and the results have been quite positive. In her first 10k of the year she shattered Katie Lee’s school record at the Stanford Invitational and quickly turned her attention to dismantling her own 16:51 5k PR, which was run while she was a senior in high school! As is classic Tori style, she went right after things from the start, rolling through early splits of 5:11 at the 1600, 9:46 (3k-3rd fastest 3k in CSUC history if kept splits as records) and 10:24 for 3200m. With 2 kilometers remaining Tori was on 16:15 pace (keep in mind school record is 16:25) but of course everyone who’s ever raced the 5k before, can attest to the difficulty of the final 3-4 laps. A 1200m stretch of 80, 80 and 82 effectively took her out of the realm of the school record hunt, but would keep her in the realm of a sub 16:30 run. Thankfully Tori managed to rally a bit over the final lap, posting a sub 80 for the final revolution and stopping the clock with an NCAA Auto mark and #2 All Time CSUC best 16:29.76. Tori’s shiny new PR is also quite close to her college coach’s collegiate PR, but thankfully for yours truly I still have some bragging rights for the van rides to upcoming meets ;)

Tori’s Video Link: http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/236734/326892

Men’s 5,000m-Section B: The ‘Cats would send two to the line in the 12.5 lap event tonight with Beau Rogers, fresh off his 8:56 steeple PR at Stanford, leading the charge. Tim Cannon who finished his ’09 track season with a nice 14:20 run at the Oxy Invite, was making his ’10 debut after losing the second half of his XC and first half of the current track season to Plantar Fascia issues. Thankfully Tim has returned to health and has just gained enough workouts to make a solid attempt at the 5k distance. Despite missing A LOT of winter run training Tim being the competitor that he is, rolled through early splits, on the heels of his teammate Beau Rogers. The pair hit 1600m in 4:33 following the pace created by the leaders ahead. Beau kept hitting 68’s taking him through 3200m in a 9:07 (PR) while the reality of the missed training caught up to Tim over the second mile. The third mile wasn’t pretty for Cannon, but the gritty competitor kept hammering lap after lap, and closed well enough to finish with a seasonal debut of 14:37. Despite being quite tired himself Beau hammered the final 1600m well, and a swift final 400m in the lower 60’s gave the Senior from Watsonville a big 14:16 PR. This mark places Beau at #5 on the All Time list and of course gives him the option of running the event at the NCAA meet.. Although something tells me that he’ll pick the barrier event instead.

Beau/Tim Cannon’s 5k: http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/236734/326943

Bauhs Update: Chico Alum Scott Bauhs ran in the Invite 5k at Mt Sac. Early positioning on the rail in a race with 30+ runners, added to the challenge that Scott faced in trying to win this race. After having to let nearly every runner in the field go by on his outside, Scott finally was able to make a move to get out and start passing runners. The 800m that he spent running low 60’s per lap to catch the leaders appeared to put him into more distress than he would have been otherwise. The end result was a hard fought 7th place finish, just off his PR and only 4+ seconds off the win. Scott will re-group and get ready for the upcoming Payton Jordan meet at Stanford where he’ll compete in the 10k event.

On this same note, several top ‘Cats will be looking for school record marks at the upcoming Stanford meet. For those interested in catching some great track action-mark your calendars for the upcoming Payton Jordan meet to be held on the Stanford campus on Saturday May 1, 2010. Wickman will tackle the 1500, Rogers-the steeple and Hayes the 800m!