Friday was a long day for the Chico State distance crew with athletes competing at two venues (SF State and Stanford) starting at 8:00am and not finishing until 11:15pm. All told, 9 Chico State distance athletes recorded NCAA marks (2 being Auto's!), and nearly 30 hit PR's. Most who didn't quite hit lifetime bests did manage seasonal bests in their respective events. Despite the 15 hours of trackside action, it was an incredible day of great racing!

Highlighting the long day was Isaac Chavez' 10k run on the Stanford oval. Running in the fastest heat of the night among mostly Division I All Americans and professionals, Isaac took complete advantage of the opportunity and recorded a 28:49 PR. This mark is the 5th best collegiate time in the U.S. this season (DI, II, III/NAIA included). It's also the 2nd fastest ever in CCAA history (behind Scott Bauhs' DII record run). And perhaps most impressive is the fact that it's an Olympic Trials "B" qualifying mark. And he's only a Sophomore!!!

Before diving into Issac's race more deeply I wanted to share a quick breakdown of the times posted by the 'Cats (including red shirts who competed) to quickly highlight the depth of the action. 

 
Times Posted per event over the weekend by Wildcat Distance Runners:

Men:
 
800m:
1:56.88-Carlos Suarez (Sr) SF Invite (seasonal best)
2:00.72-Brett Douville (Fr) SF Invite                                    
 
Steeplechase:

9:18.22-Kevin Svahn (Fr) SF Invite, NCAA Provisional, PR,
9:23.46-Phil Graber (Jr) SF Invite, PR, (note: hit barrier with 2 laps remaining)
9:24 Miles Dunbar (Sr) Stanford Invite, Seasonal Best
9:33 Alex McGuirk (Fr) SF Invite, Seasonal Best
 
5,000m: (all at San Francisco State)

14:25.70-Josh Linen (Sr), NCAA Provisional, PR, #10 A.T. CSUC
14:30.06-Dayne Gradone (So), NCAA Provisional, PR
14:41.74-Alfonso Cisneros (So), PR
14:45.47-Dan Parker (RS. Fr), PR (red shirting)
14:49.57-Johnny Sanchez (Fr), Seasaonal Best
14:52.40-Alan Cuevas (Fr), Seasonal Best
14:52.92-Joseph Rivera (Sr.)                         
14:57.42-Jeremy Brummitt (Fr), PR
15:11.38-Rogan Meza (So), Seasonal Best (coming off injury)
15:35.18-Chance Varnardo Richardson (Fr), PR
15:42    Geoff Bogan (Fr), (14:50 PR-tough day)
 
10,000m:

28:49.19-Isaac Chavez (So) Stanford Invite, Oly Trials B Standard, #2 A.T. CCAA, #2 A.T. CSUC, 
         NCAA Auto, 5th fastest 2012 Collegian to date.
29:46.51-Anthony Costales (Jr) Stanford Invite, NCAA Provisional, #5 A.T. CSUC, PR
31:21.18-Kyle Fox (Jr) SF Invite, Debut, PR
31:39.19-Tommy McGuan (Fr) SF Invite, Debut, PR
32:09.89-Dillon Breen (Fr) SF Invite, PR
 
 
Women:
 
800m:(two were doubling back from 15)

2:20.52-Olivia Watt (Fr) SF Invite, red shirt, PR
2:21.68-Lora James (Fr) SF Invite, Seasonal Best
2:21.20-Brittney Balcom (So) SF Invite, Seasonal Best
2:30.71-Ashley Simon (Fr)  SF Invite, Seasonal Best
 
1500m:
 
4:51.41-Lora James (Fr) SF Invite, Red shirt, seasonal best
4:56.66-Jordan Walsh (Fr) SF Invite, Red Shirt,  PR
4:58.19-Quetta Peinado (Fr) SF Invite, Seasonal Best
5:10 Brittney Balcom (So) SF Invite 
 
Steeplechase:

10:52.75-Amy Schnittger (Jr) Stanford Invite, NCAA Provisional, 2 seconds off PR
10:57.67-Katie Spencer (Sr) SF Invite, NCAA Provisional, 19 second PR, #5 A.T. CSUC
11:00.50-Emily Stickney (Fr) SF Invite, NCAA Provisional, 35 second PR, #8 A.T. CSUC
11:31.47-Natalie Galvan (So) SF Invite, Seasonal Best
11:43.68-Haley Swanson (So) SF Invite, Seasonal Best

5,000m:

17:30.95-Jessica Varela (Fr) SF Invite,PR, 10 seconds short of NCAA Provisional mark
17:33.22-Paige Henker (Jr) SF Invite, PR
17:52 Stephanie Consiglio (Sr) Stanford Invite, 17:03PR - tough outing
18:08.89-Xiang Tak (Fr) SF Invite, PR, Red shirting frosh
 
10,000m:

34:32.56-Alia Gray (Sr) Stanford Invite, NCAA Auto, Misses her PR/School Record by 1 sec., 
         out in 17:05 for initial 5k. 5K PR=17:04.
37:21-Sara Mikesell (So) SF Invite, PR
37:30-Bekah Bakra (Fr) SF Invite, Debut, PR, red shirting true frosh
37:43-Tiffany Heflin (Fr) SF Invite,Debut, PR
37:48-Hillary LaBelle (Jr) SF Invite, PR
39:38-Jackie Mansoor (Fr) SF Invite, Debut, PR

The final 3 races at the Stanford Invitational on Friday night were 10k's and the Wildcats would have a competitor in each of these 25 lappers. Of course each was looking for big marks to secure their spots on the line for the upcoming NCAA championships, and perhaps in Chico State history.

Heat I-Men's 10K: Isaac Chavez was up first as the sophomore from Barstow, CA managed to gain a spot on the line in the fast heat of the Stanford meet. Isaac would share a space on the line with American 10k Olympian Dathan Ritzenhien, 2 Foot Locker Champions (who he would eventually beat), a 2 time US Jr. 10k champ, and numerous other DI All Americans. The goal was to dip under the 29 minute mark, which would put him on the list of potential participants at this summer's US Olympic Trials in Eugene, OR. One of the toughest challenges for Chavez would be the mental part of crossing the 5k point of the race at or near his 14:26 5k personal best.

From the gun the fearless racing Chavez put himself among the leaders in the 30+ runner field. Finding a nice spot on the rail in the top 6-7 initially Chavez tucked in and went to work notching off a relatively conservative 4:43 first mile. The second mile brought a predictable quickening of the pace as the pack accelerated hitting 4 laps in the 68/69 range (9:19-3200m split). The third mile was much the same (4:35) and having been stuck on the rail with athletes passing on his right, Isaac sat near the 20th position as the pack hit 5k in 14:28.

The true racing began just after 5k when Ritzenhein seized the lead and dropped the pace to a 66 second clip. The pack immediately stretched, and after just a few laps, there were now numerous groups scattered about the track. Chavez responded well, clocking his fastest mile of the race (4:32) for the fourth, but he was now running as a part of a smaller group some distance behind the leaders.

During the fifth mile Chavez fought his way from small group to another as those ahead slowed. 8k was reached in 23:05 and he was now making up ground on Oregon's Parker Stinson (2 time US Jr. 10k Champ and sub 13:40 5k guy). Stinson was caught and passed as were several others, including Davis' 13:40 guy Jonathan Peterson. As is usually the case, the final 2k was very challenging and Isaac's splits went 70.4, 71.5, 69.5, 69.2 (4:40), then a 63.5 closer. With the vocal Chico contingent (40+ strong) chanting "Chiiiiiiccccoooo, Chiiiiicccccoooo" Chavez hit the jets coming off the final turn just as Davis' Peterson looked to sweep by en route to his eventual school record run. This wasn't to be the case as Isaac's final 100m was a thing of beauty. An already long stride increased, as did his turnover, and a 13-14 second final 100m carried him to within just .02 of Stanford's top finisher in the field (Miles Unteriner-NCAA 10k qualifier in '11). It also carried him to the line a second ahead of Davis' Peterson, who crushed their school record. Other notables to finish behind the young Chico runner were HS Foot Locker XC Champions Chad Hall and Michael Fout. Isaac's final 5k (14:20) was also a PR, within the race.

Heat II-Men's 10K: Junior Anthony Costales entered last track season with a 5k pr of 15:20. He finished the season with a 10k mark of 29:58, but missed the NCAA meet by 2 seconds. The goal tonight was to put up at least a 29:40's run that would hopefully guarantee him entry to the big dance. The hard working Fairfield HS/ARC alum looked great through early splits of 4:48 and 9:34 for 16 and 3200m. A 4:43 third mile put Costales on goal pace as 5k was reached in 14:53.

A year ago, Costales' biggest weakness was closing races out well in the last kilometer, so the Chico fans took a deep breath as the deserving runner set sail for the toughest half of the race. Anthony's fourth mile was his fastest of the race as he clocked a 4:42 and hit the metric 4 mile in 19:00.

The fifth mile finally started to show the difficulty of the quick early pace as the first 73 second lap since the first mile appeared as he hit 8k (23:47 PR). 74.1 was the worst of the "slower" laps (lap 21 tonight) as Costales dug deep into the reserves, reminding himself of the pain of missing the big dance a year ago by just 2 seconds. Lap splits of 72, 73 and 71 led up to the bell as Anthony hit the 24 lap mark in a swift 28:39. Unlike any of his races a year ago Costales had saved some fuel for the final revolution as a 66 second closer put a few more bodies behind him and secured a 29:46 final time. The impressive PR puts Anthony 5th on the Chico State All Time list for the 25 lap event, and into a great position for a hopeful berth into the NCAA meet this May in Pueblo, CO.

Heat II-Women's 10K: Next to the line was school record holder Alia Gray who also eyed the Olympic Trials B standard (34:00) with interest. As with Chavez' run though, Gray would need to record back to back 5k Pr's to have a chance (17:04 5k PR). From the gun Gray put herself among the top 1/3 of the field and a 78 second third revolution of the track helped her cover a gap that had formed between a defined lead pack, and the 25+ runners that ran behind. Now running among a pack nearing 15 runners Alia dug in and prepared for the pain that lie ahead. 1600m was reached in 5:26, and the 3200m split (10:54) had the pack hovering at 34:00 pace.

The lead pack remained together through 12 laps (16:25) but Alia was starting to show the strain of the quick early pace, and she fell to the back of the main group. By the 13 lap mark a group of 4 had splintered off the back of the main pack, with Alia hanging on to this quartet. Her 5k split was her second fastest 5k ever, less than 2 seconds off her best. The fourth mile brought 83 second laps, and now chase pack runners were catching and passing Alia, which at least gave her some added company for the tougher second half of the 10k.

The final 3200m saw the true grit and determination of a fifth year senior shine through. Despite falling off the hoped pace well before Alia refused to throw in the towel and continued to grind out 83-85 second laps. The metric 6 mile was reached in 33:14 and a 78 second final 400 (fastest of the race) stopped the clock with a 34:32 final time. The final time is an Automatic NCAA qualifier and just one second off her 34:31 school record, attained at last year's NCAA Championships. Given the aggressive early start, this was a very impressive run. Alia will now turn her sights toward joining the 'Cats growing sub 17 minute 5k club at next week's Mt Sac Invite.

Next up for the 'Cats will be the Chico Distance Carnival this weekend. Friday night will see the fast 800's, 5k's and steeplechases (7-9:30pm approximately). Saturday will see the full slate of events starting in the late afternoon and concluding with Fast 1500's and 4 X 4's under the lights (around 9pm). We hope to see some of you out at the track! Please see our website for schedule details.

In addition to our usual distance entries at Stanford, we sent some sprinters and hurdlers this year along with a thrower and jumper. As always, the distance races produced big time marks from athletes across the country. Our kids stepped right in and produced some magical marks of their own. Isaac Chavez posted the second fastest 10K in CCAA history (the fastest happens to be Chico State alum Scotty Bauhs!) and the fifth fastest collegiate time this year (all divisions), getting an NCAA AUTO mark and and Olympic "B" standard to boot. He finished 11th in a time of 28:49.17. Alia Gray also hit an automatic NCAA mark in the 10,000m with a time of 32:32 (only one second from her own school record). She finished 21st in a field that included 36 of the best DI runners in the nation. The race started at 11:00PM under flood lights on Friday night.



Heat I-Women's 4 X 400:The next day our women's 4 X 400 team turn to make their mark on our record books. Nicole Cooper led off the race in lane 9 and brought the stick around in a 57.88 split. Melissa Rene' was next and delivered perhaps her finest performance in her track career, hammering a 57.18 split, one week after missing the ARC Invite due to an injury. Frosh sensation Erika Kalmar took that third leg around in 57.29 and then hurdler Aimee Rodgers was left to anchor. She has had several memorable anchor legs in her three years of wearing the Chico Cardinal & White, including her freshman year when she helped lead the Cats to our first CCAA team title in 5 years. She took her relay running to a new level, splitting 56.31 to stop the clock at 3:48.70. This time sets a NEW SCHOOL RECORD at Chico State and blasted past the NCAA provisional standard of 3:50.00. We are currently ranked 9th in the nation with that time. We went from being ranked 7th in the conference last week at 3:53 to 2nd in one race. The new record surpasses the old mark of 3:49.25 set in 1991 by my teammates Jen Wissmath, April Winn, Erin McLaughlin and Tonya Miles. The record stood for 21 years!

The women's 4 x 100 team also competed, with Cooper, Rene and Kalmar being joined by Amilia Santos. The team was not able to improve their season best mark of 47.66, but did win their heat. Eric Wright and Michael Souza were our lone field event representatives...Wright threw 175'8" to place 11th in the hammer throw. Michael Souza was 10th in the high jump clearing 6'9". Frosh Hakeem Dyson notched a personal record in the 100HH placing 3rd in his heat with a time of 14.85.