It was a very productive weekend for the Wildcat Distance Crew this weekend as a group of 16 'Cats traded blows with the NCAA's best at the Mt Sac Invite and came away with 12 NCAA provisional qualifying marks, Including a school record. Add two more provisional NCAA marks achieved at the Woody Wilson Invite, and you have quite a weekend of action for the Distance 'Cats. As I've done in a few of my recent write-up's I'll first list a rank-order list of our athletes and their times from the weekend. 

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

Women's 1500m:
Ayla Granados               4:42.50
 
Women's Steeplechase
Amy Schnittger             10:25.97   NCAA q, School Record, PR
Natalie Galvan             11:04  NCAA q, 2nd best time for the event
 
Women's 10k:
Sara Mikesell              35:51   NCAA q, #5 AT CSUC, PR (previous pr-37:09)
Paige Henker               36:06   NCAA q, #7 AT CSUC, PR
Hillary LaBelle            36:24   NCAA q, #11 AT CSUC, PR (previous pr-37:48)
Jessie Varela              36:25  NCAA q  (10 seconds shy of '12 PR)
Jonah Weeks                DNF-Achilles injury
 
Men's 1500:
Dan Parker                 3:54.5
 
Men's Steeplechase:
Alex McGuirk               9:06.87  NCAA q, misses PR by .7 seconds.
 
Men's 10,000m:
Dayne Gradone (Jr)         29:35  NCAA q,  #3 AT CSUC
Anthony Costales (Sr)      29:59  NCAA q, misses PR by 13 seconds.
Johnny Sanchez (So)        30:14  NCAA q,  #10 AT CSUC, (old pr-31:10)
Germay Tesfai (So)         30:33  NCAA q, (Old PR-31:40)
Aaron Thomas (RS-JR)       30:51  (Red Shirting athlete)  PR
Adrian Sherrod (Sr)        DNF (Ran through 8k in 23:47 but calf strain forced DNF)

 

Coincidentally it was the performances of our two Aptos High School alumnus that stood out the most this weekend. Senior Amy Schnittger, the two time defending CCAA steeple champion and returning All American, would crush her 10:42 school record with a 10:25 performance at Mt Sac. Her former HS teammate Dayne Gradone looked equally as sharp posting the third fastest 10k in Wildcat history with his 29:35 run. We'll start with Schnittger's steeple.

Women's 3k Steeplechase-A Section: Amy Schnittger has already proven that she's one of the toughest athletes to have worn the Wildat jersey. A year ago at the CCAA Championships she upset pre-race favorite Courtney Anderson in 80+ degree temps while also breaking our school record. She would return to post a top finish in the 5k final just a few short hours later. This toughness and race-savvy would come in handy at Mt Sac as conditions were not ideal with temps hovering in the upper 70's and a strong breeze blowing. Knowing that women's steeple fields often times go out too fast in the early going, Schnittger tucked into a 30 woman pack somewhere around 20th place through an 83 first revolution. With 83 second revolutions being the target pace Schnittger found her rhythm and some even paced running over the next 800m had her on the heels of a 10 runner lead pack as the group hit 1600 (5:32). The next lap was covered in 82 seconds and now the lead pack had dwindled to four, with Schnittger looking Very controlled and confident .

With three laps remaining Schnittger took the lead and hammered out a pair of tough 84 second laps from the front. Only Air Force's Jennifer Bremser was able to match strides with the gritty Chico runner. Just when it looked like a match race between Bremser and Schnittger for the win, Rice's Heather Olson made a strong move to catch the leading pair. With 300 remaining Olson swung wide and made a hard move for the win. Schnittger attempted to cover, but Olson's 75 second closer was too much for Amy who would have to settle for a hard fought runner-up finish. All of the hard work from the front would be rewarded well though as Schnittger had stopped the clock at 10:25.97, which as previously mentioned, smashed her own school record mark.

Amy Schnittger's school record run/Flotrack video

Men's Olympic Development 10,000m: Chico would send two to the line in the second fastest 10k heat of the meet in Dayne Gradone and Anthony Costales. Anthony's PR dated to the '12 Stanford meet where he recorded a 29:46 PR. Gradone entered the race without a 10k finish (DNF'd ' in '12 @ Mt Sac) but was coming off huge 14:14/3:53 PR's for the shorter distances. From the start Gradone and Costales ran at the back of the field biding their time and gradually moving up through the field as the opportunities presented themselves. Gradone led the way and the pair hit the 5k in a modest 14:57 split, but on the heels of the main pack.

The pace picked up over the second half but the Chico pair did a wonderful job adjusting to the 70 second laps hitting 8k in 23:51. The sixth mile was a rough one for Costales who began to lose contact with the lead group, eventually holding on to 16th place 29:59 finish. At the front Gradone looked Very relaxed, covering moves from ahead, and with 500m remaining it was evident Gradone had intentions of winning the race. Having run a 68 penultimate lap, and looking great doing it, Gradone hit another gear down the homestretch as he approached the bell with a 2 stride advantage over the field. Just when it looked like Gradone might score a big win BYU's Taylor Farnsworth (Top-15 at 2006 Foot Locker National Championships) turned on the afterburners and passed Gradone in the final 50m. Dayne held strong claiming the runner-up spot having clocked an impressive 61 final circuit. Perhaps most impressive was the fact that Dayne had run the entire final mile of the race with several layers of the ball of his foot completely rolled back. The post race visual as he yanked off the troubled spike wasn't pretty, but the 29:35 final time was well worth it.

Dayne's 10K /Flotrack video

Men's 10k Invitational Section: Running in the fastest section of the evening Adrian Sherrod looked great operating among the talented field and passing through early splits of 9:29/14:47 (5k). Metric 4 miles was 18:56, and 8k was reached in 23:47. Unfortunately Sherrod's lower calf/upper Achilles had started bugging him in the second half of the race and with 3.5 remaining he pointed to the area and shouted to yours truly that his Achilles was hurting. With a little over 1k remaining Sherrod stepped off the track, which was too bad given that he was easily on 29:40's pace at least. The good news is that he was able to run 16 miles in the following 2 days of training and the injury doesn't appear to be serious.

Men's 10k A Section: As a true frosh Johnny Sanchez posted an impressive 31:10 for the 25 lapper, but the 2012 season offered no improvements and plenty of frustration. Thankfully the tough RS Soph from Fresno has stuck with the plan, as the hard work is now sinking in and paying off. On Thursday evening Johnny rolled to an even splitted 30:14 effort slicing nearly a minute off his former PB. He now stands at #10 All Time for CSUC 25 lappers and has put himself into the NCAA equation with the strong provisional mark.

Men's 10k B Section: Sophomore Germay Tesfai joined the 'Cats this spring after transferring from Fresno City College. I knew we were getting a 'diamond in the rough' in Tesfai (who hadn't run over 60mpw prior to this season) but I had no idea of just how tough he is. On Thursday Tesfai rolled through the 5k in 15:16 almost oblivious to the fact that his PR for 5k coming into the season was around 15:20. The second half was brutally painful for Tesfai, but he kept fighting, lap after lap, to keep up with the pack. Although some places were given up over the final 4 laps, Tesfai did a great job of damage-control, and hit the line in 30:33 (17th overall respectively).

Women's 10k-A Section: A trio of 'Cats would compete in the women's A section of the 10k on Thursday night in Walnut, CA. Sara Mikesell (37:09-PR), Jessie Varela (36:15 PR), and Hillary LaBelle (37:48-PR). The three were all hoping to give the 36:00 barrier a good run, and with that, hopefully put themselves into the NCAA equation. Early splits for the trio were 5:46, 11:31, 17:20 (18:03-5k) but they ran among a small pack that was dwindling in size and the pace was slowing. Sensing a move was needed Sara Mikesell swung around the Cal Baptist athlete that led their group and journeyed off in search of the next group (that ran nearly 100m ahead). After a short hesitation teammate Jess Varela joined Mikesell and the pair ran the following 2k together absorbing a few slowing athletes along the way. The surge seemed to take it's toll on Varela and she fell off Mikesell's honest 85-86 second revolutions, and eventually would re-join her small group that still included teammate LaBelle. Mikesell, who passed an amazing 30 women in the final 3k of the NCAA XC Championships this fall, made up an entire 100m on several athletes in the final 2.5 miles of the race and a 78 second final circuit would give the hard working Junior a shiny 35:51 10k PR. Mikesell would also become the 6th 'Cat in the history of the program to dip under the 36:00 barrier (not bad for the 12-something 2 miler from Bret Hart HS). Speaking of 12-something HS 3200m runners, Hillary LaBelle ran a strong final mile with teammate Varela just off her heels en route to a 36:24 PR. Varela finished just a second behind missing her PR by just 10 seconds. All three had run NCAA provisional marks, and Hillary LaBelle had run the 10th fastest 10k mark in school history. The only problem for LaBelle was that teammate Paige Henker was in the next race and would record an even faster mark, giving her a window of less than an hour of enjoying being one of the 10 fastest Chico State 10k runners ever ;v).

Women's 10k-B Section: Senior Paige Henker walked onto our team five years ago having run for nearby Chico HS. She had modest 5:24 mile credentials and spent her first year at the back of our large 25 woman roster. Year after year improvements have been made and now as a senior Paige was determined to give her very best in her one chance at a 10k on the track this season. Hitting 5k in 18:06 Henker looked great and was mixing it up with a healthy sized lead pack. Running with no hesitation whatsoever Paige led several laps in the second half of the race. Had it not been for a nasty side stitch in the final mile that shrugged her off the pace of the leaders Paige would have surely become the 7th Sub 36 min runner from our program.. but unfortunately some painful laps in the upper 80's would take her out of contention for the win and sub 36. Still Paige rallied over the final 2 laps as the stitch disappeared and an 82 second final revolution sealed up a well earned 36:06 PR. Teammate Jonah Weeks entered the weekend with an ailing heel that unfortunately didn't allow her to run with a powerful push off. The result was an attempted 10k but disappointing 3 laps for the 5th year senior who has been bitten by the injury bug during track once again.

Women's Steeple-B Section: Junior Natalie Galvan knew the early pace was too fast, so she ran in the very last spot of the field, rolling through the 400 mark in 81 seconds (10:10). The tactical decision was smart, but the blistering early pace would take its toll on Galvan. Natalie would move up well throughout eventually placing 16th overall with an 11:04 time. The mark was her second best to date and is 6 seconds off her PR, posted in SF several weeks ago.

Men's Steeplechase B Section: When an athlete makes a big jump in time it takes another nice run to truly validate the first accomplishment. Running in the B section of the men's steeplechase in less than ideal Hot and windy conditions Alex McGuirk did just this. From the gun Alex put himself among a strong lead pack that included former 'Cat NCAA qualifier Tim Tollefson who now runs for Sacramento Running Association. While Tollefson hammered from the front in search of a PR (he just ran 8:56 two weeks prior) McGuirk settled into the sub 9 minute pace of the main pack nicely over the initial laps. 4 laps was reached in 4:45-ish. After 2k Alex seized the lead of the chase group and brought Tollefson into the fold. Leading several tough laps between 2k and 600m to go, Alex started to struggle a bit over the final 600m. His lead was taken over by Mexico's Luis Hernandez, and with a lap to go Colorado State's Andrew Goodman would also make a move by the tiring Chico sophomore. Despite tying up over the final 400 McGuirk still managed to hold onto a PR-Tying 9:06 time while placing third overall in a very strong field.

Women's 1500m: Our #1 goal with Ayla Granados over the coming weeks will be that of pace recognition. On Thursday the Butte JC transfer chased the early leaders in her heat through an early split of 68 through the 400. This would eventually destroy the entire pack's hopes of breaking 4:30 and Granados faded badly to a disappointing 4:42 outing. Consider it a lesson learned (albeit the hard way).

Men's 1500m: Sophomore Dan Parker ran a fairly even paced 3:54 but lacked a closing kick in what was the slowest heat of the day at Mt Sac.

Woody Wilson Highlights: Two more NCAA qualifying marks were achieved by 'Cat distance runners at Davis' Woody Wilson Invite. RS Frosh Olivia Watt ran to yet another PR (2:14.25) on Friday en route to winning the fastest heat of the day. Red Shirting teammate Bailey Henshaw would place second in 2:15.03. Senior steepler Hayley Swanson ran her third PR in a row over the barriers, and this time the result lands her among the NCAA's best with an 11:10 outing. Hayley just missed the 'Cats stout Top-10 list with her PR run as well.

Next up: This Sunday Isaac Chavez will compete at the Payton Jordan invitational in the 10,000m event. Last year as a sophomore he ran the 15th fastest 10k in DII history (28:49). This year he hopes to lower that mark in what is always a stellar field in Palo Alto.

Next week: CCAA Championships in Turlock, CA. Stay tuned as the 'Cats head to Turlock in search of their 10th straight CCAA title (on the men's side). Action starts next Friday, and concludes on Saturday afternoon.