As I had mentioned in my weekend preview on Thursday the ‘Cats had some really big races to look forward to on Friday and Saturday at the San Francisco State Distance Carnival and the Stanford Invitational. Thankfully the good majority of those who competed enjoyed personal best performances and a whole host of Chico runners achieved NCAA qualifying marks. Having witnessed the weekend performances first-hand I have a hard time comparing this weekend’s results with any weekend that our program has enjoyed in the past. The sheer number of impressive marks that were recorded by this group of athletes was really quite mind-numbing and highlights the amazing depth that we are currently enjoying on both the men’s and women’s teams. All told 15 Chico State athletes (red shirts included) reached at least an NCAA provisional qualifying mark this weekend. Four of these athletes, hit NCAA Auto marks, which guarantees them entry into the championships that will be held this May in Charlotte, NC. It was a weekend of PR’s and impressive runs!

Women's 10,000m: Both Wildcat entrants enjoyed huge PR’s in this one. Sophomore Jonah Weeks and Senior Colleen Joyce played their cards quite well tactically in the early going and both produced quick final 5k’s (18:25 for Weeks and 18:30 for Joyce). Weeks’ final 400 (sub 80!) carried her to the win against some credible DI opposition. Joyce had followed Eastern Oregon’s Karlee Coffey clear from a chase pack around the 5k mark, and the two clicked off sub 90 second 400’s the entire second half of the race. The result was over a minute PR for the hard working senior from El Toro HS.

Men's 10,000m: Three Chico men toed the line for the second heat of the 25 lapper with ties to the Chico program. Senior Alex Sharp had hopes of possibly breaking the 31 min mark, while teammate Joe Rath hoped for something in the low 31’s. Red shirting frosh Dayne Gradone would take aim at the challenge of his first 10k on the track. Unfortunately this race didn’t quite play out as well as we’d hoped going in. After rolling through the 5k in 15:26 and looking pretty solid in doing so, Sharp fell off the pace in the second half and struggled to hold form, while running solo much of the final 3200m. Joe and Dayne suffered similar fates on this day with both unraveling over the final meters after a fairly aggressive first half. The final result for Alex Sharp was still nearly a minute PR, which of course isn’t too shabby.

Women’s Steeplechase: The women’s steeple worked out quite nicely for the ‘Cats on this day. Three of the school’s ten fastest marks all time were posted in this race. Frosh Amy Schnittger led the charge with her 11:08 PR, which was good for fourth place overall. Sophomore Jessica Brieno chipped of 6 seconds from her PR as well while joining Amy on the NCAA provisional list. Katie Spencer fell a bit shy of her 11:17 PR, but not by much, and her 11:24 mark was a clear improvement over her 11:41 run in Davis the week before. Jessica Nelson continues a return from injury and nearly dipped under 12 minutes on Friday.

Men’s Steeplechase: True frosh Zack Zadrozna enjoyed a sub 10 debut while looking pretty darn strong over the barriers. Given his Rocklin HS pedigree I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised with his result on Saturday as Wildcat fans will probably remember 9:01 and 9:05 barrier men Pat Boivin and Tim Tollefson also hailed from Rocklin HS. In any event, this was a nice run for the hard working young frosh.

Women's 1500m (Heat 3):Junior Anna Eicholtz took another step forward on Friday since joining the ranks of the 800/1500m group. Although her final time wasn’t the sub 4:40 that we’d hoped for ideally, her 4:41.1 was tantalizingly close, and cut 3 seconds off her previous lifetime best.

Women's 800m (Heat 3):Anna Eicholtz doubles back in the 800 and comes away with a seasonal best (2:16.36) manages to close reasonably well despite feeling the effects of having run an earlier race.

Women's 5000m (Heat 1):The second heat of the Women’s 5k was highlighted by the big PR of Sara Miksell who dropped under the 19 minute mark for the first time. Soph Sam Racine’s early pace caught up with her in the later laps as she fell back through the field and out of contention for a PR. True frosh Hayley Swanson had a great race going and with 2 laps remaining, looked capable and on pace for an 18:15, but a side stitch struck, and the final few laps were almost as difficult to watch as they must have been for Hayley to run. Hopefully she’ll have another good shot at the 5k distance this year as she’s capable of running in the low 18’s for sure!

Women's 5000m (Heat 2): Add two more ‘Cats to the sub 18 minute club as Junior Shannon Rich and Frosh Michelle Johnson stamp themselves as 17-something 12.5 lappers after Friday’s women’s race. From the gun the pace was fast and furious, as all five Chico women rolled through the initial 1600m in 5:36 or faster, despite being near the back of the fast moving field. Henker who’d never broken 12 minutes for 3200m two years ago while in high school sailed through the 8 lap mark in a new 11:15 pr, with teammate Shannon Rich at her side. Michelle Johnson hung on strong as the fast early laps took their toll. Senior Julie Shaw who’d run 17:23 last year as a junior went out with the leaders but suffered the effects of a down day, coupled with a quicker that anticipated early pace. With a strong final 1600m stretch Shannon Rich easily dipped under the 18 minute mark, stopping the clock at 17:38, which is just 5 seconds shy of the NCAA provisional standard. Henker lopped an impressive 12 more seconds off her fresh pr run at Stanislaus several weeks ago, while also finishing within 10 seconds of an NCAA provisional mark. Dispite missing much of January training with an injury Michelle Johnson gave a good glimpse of what’s to come as she continues to gain fitness. Her 17:46 makes her the 9th ‘Cat on the current roster to have dropped under the 18 minute mark on the oval. Stephanie Consiglio just missed her first sub 18, and Julie Shaw has proven that she’s in much better fitness than her Friday performance would indicate. Stay tuned for a much better run by Julie who’ll compete in the 10k at the Mt Sac meet in several weeks.

http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/236824-san-francisco-state-distance-carnival/322328-womens-5k-1709

Men's 5000m (Heat 3): Whew, what a great race this was… Senior Jimmy Elam led a very qualified and capable group of Wildcat men to the line of the fast heat of the men’s 5k on Friday. Recent workouts had shown that Jimmy’s 14:35 PR was definitely at risk, and the senior set out with 14:20 as his goal. The early pace was fairly modest as the lead pack hit the 400 at 70, and 800m at 2:21, but lap three brought the race’s first 68, and many more followed at the front. ‘Cats Elam, Handa, Solis and Scanlon all ran among the lead pack through 3200m which was reached in 9:15. Scanlon was the first to drop as his breathing started to go south with 4 laps remaining. Elam, and Handa held strong, but Solis fell from the pack as the pace quickened over the final few laps. With 600m remaining it was a 4 man race with Asics Aggies Crosby Freeman (30th at ’09 Boston Marathon), Kevin Pool, Daniel Tapia (JC State XC Champ in fall) and Elam all in the mix. Tapia made a hard move to the front in the final 400m, which Elam covered. Jimmy took a slight lead inside the final 200m, but Tapia had superior turnover in the final meters, to score a 1 second victory. Jimmy settled for second place, but enjoyed a nice PR en-route. Handa lost contact with 600m remaining and held on well enough to earn a nice 10 second PR. Solis matched his track best, while former HS teammate Isaac Chavez chipped 6 seconds off his 14:44 PR, run at last year’s Arcadia invite. Joey Kochlacs also hit a PR and provisional NCAA mark while teammate Miles Dunbar (On fire as of late!) hit another huge PR with his 14:51 finish. Also recording Pr’s were Adrian Sherrod (14:53 and Donald Truesdell (15:10). Link to Video of race: http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/236824-san-francisco-state-distance-carnival/322276-mens-5k-h3-1416

Men's 5000m (Heat 2): I’m not sure how he did it, but after missing the better part of three weeks of training, ending 2 weeks ago, Thomas Whitcomb landed on his feet and ran a gutsy 15:32 5k on Saturday. Although well off his 15:00 PR, it was just as impressive of a performance as his PR, run on the same track a year ago. Hopefully the coming weeks will be kind to our team captain who deserves to finish his senior track season with some great races.

Men's 5000m (Heat 1): Red Shirting frosh Rogan Meza managed his first sub 16 on Friday while running among the leaders much of the race.

Stanford Invitational results & commentary