Through the years the UC San Diego track facility has brought many great memories for the Chico State Track and Cross Country squads. Many CCAA titles have been earned, and even regional xc titles have been sealed on the track surface finish of the Triton's XC course. On Saturday the Chico State track teams further cemented this reputation with two more CCAA team titles earned by the men's and women's track teams. Although both titles were very well rounded efforts by our overall track programs (See 2- 4 X 100m titles) the distance crew definitely provided a nice scoring punch to the overall cause. In fact all 25 competing distance runners scored at least a point respectively toward the newest team crowns. For the men's program this would be the 11th straight conference victory, and for the women it would be title number five. Coupled with the 12 and 6 year runs of the cross country teams, one might say that we are a greedy bunch in Chico.

The warmer than usual temps that hovered in the 85 to 90 degree range in the afternoon competition hours kept the marks in the distance races below the PR range of most. The exception was the school record run of Ayla Granados who battled Stanislaus' multi-time All American Courtney Anderson to an eventual 2nd place 4:26 run. Individual wins were achieved by Alex McGuirk (Steeple), Germay Tesfai (1500), Isaac Chavez (5k), and Ayla Granados (5,000m). Overall it was another exciting and eventful championship weekend for the 'Cats and I'll do my best to share some of the stories within the meet below in the race by race re-cap.

  Friday Prelims/10k Finals

Women's 1500m Prelims: The two Wildcat standouts Ayla Granados and Olivia Watt were split between the two prelim heats in the women's 1500m. Each made easy work of the qualifying process as Ayla made 75 second laps look remarkably pedestrian, and Watt shifted into a sub 70 final circuit while each gained automatic Q's into the final.

Men's 800m Prelims: AJ Pulice and Andrew Overton each advanced safely into the final based on their prelim times. Overton just nabbed the final time "q "into Saturday's run, but was relieved that an "Off" performance didn't cost him the chance to compete in the final and earn some points toward the team score.

Women's 800m Prelims: 3 'Cats were entered in the 800m prelims with Lora James being a "Bubble" entry going into the competition. Thankfully Lora was placed in the same heat with teammate Olivia Watt. A plan was hatched to have Olivia take out the pace in their heat to help James' chances of moving to the final with a time qualifier, in case a second place finish wasn't achieved. The plan worked to perfection as James followed Watt and UCSD's Elen Verhees through 550m before making her way around the tiring San Diego runner. The pair would cruise to a 1-2 heat finish, guaranteeing their spots in the final.

Bailey Henshaw ran in the final heat, and did a wonderful job of being patient, waiting until the final straightaway to make her way past the two heat leaders. A strong final 100m gave Henshaw the heat victory and of course gave the 'Cats 3 of the 9 finalists in the event.

Women's 10,000m final: 2013 NCAA qualifier and CCAA 10k Champ Sabrina Lopez was the favorite in the women's 10k on paper, but the senior from CSLA hadn't enjoyed a great year in '14 having crashed and burned in her 10k attempt a few weeks ago at Mt Sac. Predictably Lopez took the pace out early and only San Diego's Paige Hughes (37:0's PR) was willing to go with the hot or cold Lopez. Chico's two entrants Jessica Varela and Bekah Bahra decided to play a more conservative approach, while latching on to a chase pack that was led by UCSD's Chandler Colquitt. With early laps in the 88 second range per lap, the chase pack quickly become the two 'Cats and Colquitt.

Approaching the mid race point, Lopez cracked and started fading quickly back to Colquitt and Varela, who had dropped Bahra. With warmer than usual temperatures and a fairly honest pace from the start the entire field appeared to be under a good amount of distress by the 5k point. The second half of the race would be the slower half for the entire field, and pain threshold became the overriding predictor of success in this run.

Varela had won the CCAA 10k title as a RS frosh, and finished a very close second a year ago. This year some physical setbacks have left the Junior shy of her true fitness, but she did a wonderful job of dropping Colquitt and giving chase to Hughes with 10 laps to go. Some progress was made on the struggling Hughes but then Varela started to hit a wall of her own. With two laps remaining Varela was caught by Colquitt and thankfully Jess responded and matched her increase in tempo. Although Hughes would eventually hit the tape first, Varela managed to pull out an 82 final circuit to nail down a second CCAA runner-up finish. Colquitt would take third and Bahra (who'd run much of the race alone) held on nicely for fourth and the much needed team points.

Men's 10,000m final: In 2014 the 'Cats would send 3 returnees to the line in the men's 10k. Johnny Sanchez had lost a sprint finish to UCSD's Kellen Levy in the '13 race, while teammates Rogan Meza and Dillon Breen struggled to 8th and 11th place finishes respectively. In 2014 the Chico trio would step to the line prepared to mix it up at the front and hopefully score some solid points toward the team totals. With a relatively honest pace being created by Pomona's Aiden Irish (30:0's 10k PR) and UCSD's 30:50 guy Scott Acton, the Chico guys covered all moves that needed to be covered to keep themselves in contention for top spots.

As the lead pack dwindled in the second half, all three 'Cats kept contact, while also doing some of the leading chores at the front of the race. With around 3200m remaining in the race Sanchez decided to make his move to win the race. The Fresno native swung around the leaders and dropped a 71 second revolution. Only one from the group made the entire move to cover Sanchez and that would be the defending champion Levy. Sanchez and Levy's rivalry dates back to HS running days, where the UCSD standout was a top runner for Clovis West High. Keeping the pressure on from the front, Sanchez rolled another low 70 second circuit, but Levy refused to let him get away.

However with about 2k remaining Levy moved around Sanchez and despite not lowering the pace any, the UCSD runner move seemed to break the will of the Chico runner. Johnny's form almost immediately began to deteriorate and within 400m Levy had dropped him en-route to an eventual comfortable victory. Johnny managed some damage control but was nevertheless caught and passed by teammate Rogan Meza, who walked onto the team 5 years ago, in the final lap of the race. Meza would place second, with Sanchez holding on for the final podium spot. Dillon Breen running in his hometown of San Diego ran an excellent race, holding on to place 4th overall. The 2-3-4 finish would give the 'Cats a nice 19 point shot in the arm toward the team title hopes.

Saturday Finals:
Women's Steeplechase: RS Frosh McCall Habermehl took another solid step forward in what is going to be a great event for her down the road. The relative newcomer to the event ran a VERY savy race on Saturday by locking in on an even 6 min per mile clip, which after 3 laps in runners began to come back to her one after another. Starting in 8th position in the early laps McCall moved into 4th with 1200m remaining and was making up some ground on the trio of leaders that ran together the entire race.

Unfortunately for McCall the front group would work off one another throughout, making it more difficult for her to completely bridge the gap into a hoped Top-3 finish. Despite missing the podium by under 5 seconds, McCall would run to a nice PR in less than ideal conditions (85ish degrees out). This was a very nice run and a good glimpse into what appears to be a bright future for this young student athlete.

Men's Steeplechase: Defending CCAA Champion Alex McGuirk was the clear favorite to repeat as champion in the barrier event this year. CSLA's Andres DeLa Cruz (9:02 PR) was the #2 seed, and Chico's Barron Maizland had the #3 time coming in on paper. Omar Pulido would take a 6th best seed time to the table as the 'Cats again looked to scoop up some much needed team points. With McGuirk slated to run in the Payton Jordan Invite on Sunday, and knowing that Barron has the second best 1500m speed in the field, a plan was set to cover the moves of De La Cruz, forcing him to create a pace to try to get away from the field.

As the race developed it became evident that De la Cruz wasn't clicking on all cylinders as UCSDs Mario Flores (9:20ish PR) pushed the pace at the front, putting some meters on the field. With 3 lap remaining McGuirk decided to join the UCSD runner, while Maizland kept things close enough to eventually catch those who he would need to later. The final 800m brought a very rewarding outcome to this race plan as McGuirk took the lead for good within the penultimate lap. Maizland would move into second for good with 450 remaining, and the Chico pair would sail to a 1-2 finish. Pulido, who hasn't seemed to be 100% in the closing weeks of the season, did a great job of digging in and grabbing the 2 points awarded to a 7th place finish.

Women's 1500m: Wow, what a field we had in this year's 1500m. 4 finalists that were ranked among the Top-10 in the nation would all toe the line in the women's 1500m. Chico's Ayla Granados, and Olivia Watt with matching 4:28 Pr's would take on Stanislaus' Courtney Anderson and Marina Vorderbruegge (each had 4:25 or :26 PR's). In the eyes of many present, this was the race of the championships, given the firepower present, and the race itself would indeed live up to it's billing.

Given the superior 800m PR's of the Chico pair it wasn't surprising to see the Stanislaus duo bolt to the lead and pull the pace out to a blistering 69.0 second first circuit. The pace settled a bit in the second lap, but by this point, the front quartet had a huge lead on the chasing field behind. It was a battle between these four to who would finish victorious and who would end up off the podium. The third lap saw a quickening pace but everyone ran together in a tight pack at 1200m. As the group ran down the backstretch Vorderbruege lost a stride or two, and it appeared that the 'Cats would take 2 of the top-3 spots. Anderson and Granados ran side by side into the final turn with Watt on their heels. However with 150m remaining Vorderbruegge found a final gear and moved around a tiring Watt. Still the race for the title was a two woman show with Granados and Anderson still duking it out at the front with 100m remaining. Just as the Chico faithful thought that we might end up on the victorious end of this barn-burner, Anderson found a gear that left everyone in the stadium stunned. The gutsy Stanislaus runner would hit the tape first overall in a sizzling 4:24 PR (#2 AT for Stanislaus). Granados finished strong and despite being handily beaten down the final straight still managed to run a 2 second PR, AND oh by the way break the Chico State School Record! Vorderbruegge would finish third in 4:27, while Watt would have to settle for fourth with a 4:30 mark that would have won this race almost any other year. What a great competition this was!

Men's 1500m: UCSD's Carlos Bjorquez was a heavy favorite going into the 1500 final. Having a 3:49 PR along with 1:51 speed, the SD Sophomore would be a tough nut to crack for the Chico crew. With all of our men seeded 2nd-5th, the plan was to take the front and keep the pace at an even 63-64 pace clip, to ensure that no one from behind would sneak into the top group, and then we'd take our chances at outkicking Bjorquez who didn't need to press the pace given his closing speed, and the fact that he had to double back for the 800 final in 90 minutes.

Although the plan looked great on paper, much got lost in translation. Chavez, who swore that he could run the desired pace at the front, hit the 400m in 61.0, which was well beyond what was hoped. Gradone took the lead for the second lap as planned, but didn't relax the pace at all, as he seemed determined to steal the race from the front. With nothing to lose, yours truly sat back and watched the fireworks show, wondering how it would all end up.

By 800m, Chavez found himself in 7th place behind 2 Humboldt runners while up ahead Bjorquez looked as distressed as anyone running in the third position with Chico's Phil Graber and Germay Tesfai, marking his moves. With 600m remaining Bjorquez made an attempt to make up some of the 30 meter gap that separated himself from Gradone. Graber and Tesfai followed, as the pace quickened once again. In the final lap Germay made a huge move past Bjorquez and with Gradone reeling ahead, Tesfai took the lead of the race with 150m remaining which he held to the finish. Bjorquez would hang on for second, with Graber taking third. Gradone would hold on for the fourth spot, while Chavez would outkick the Humboldt runners to give the 'Cats 4 of the top-5 spots.

Despite all of the unplanned (& unadvised) moves and tactics, the 'Cats ended up with an individual title that wasn't exactly expected, AND the hoped 4 of the top-5 spots overall. Mission accomplished? I should add that a softer than normal pace was also ordered because Chavez and Gradone would be doubling back for the 5k later against several fresh athletes from other schools with solid seed times.



Women's 800m: The pre-race favorite Sabrina Pimentel (2:09 PR) executed a perfect race, grabbing the early lead and forcing others to stay with, and eventually work to get around her. With Pimentel and teammate Lorato Anderson working together, side by side, Chico's 2:11 gal Bailey Henshaw became a victim of trying too hard too early to make her way around the leading pair. Unwilling to allow Bailey around before the final turn, Henshaw eventually hit a wall with 150m remaining. Anderson would also fade hard, and doubler Olivia Watt moved into second place with 120m to go.

Unfortunately in a moment of de-ja-vu Stanislaus Marina Vorderbrugge found the same closing gear that she'd used to dispatch Watt earlier in the 15, and she would fly by to an eventual second place finish. Watt would finish a very strong 3rd in 2:12 (doubling off a 4:30 earlier). Henshaw would hang on for 5th, and the gritty Lora James would snag the 6th spot respectively. For Watt, a podium finish was a huge step, given that a year ago she was edged out of the CCAA 800m final and was forced to watch it from the sidelines. This year she would race to a 4th place 1500m final and double back with a 2:12 third place finish less than two hours later. For James, who hadn't raced yet this season just 4 weeks prior to the Championships, being a scorer in the conference was a great way to end what was a very tough season of prolonged injuries.

Men's 800m: First semester Chico athlete AJ Pulice has had to endure a rough spring season to date. A nagging foot issue that began even before he arrived on campus in late January, has limited his training, to the point where he missed nearly two complete weeks of training in late February. A return to running in March gave the 1:51.99 guy hope that he could potentially at least make the CCAA roster. At the same time second year 800m guy Andrew Overton had chipped his 1:57 PR down to 1:54 over the course of the season, just nabbing a spot on the 'Cats line-up for the Championships. The pair went into Saturday's final expected to score minimal points, but with each hoping for breakthrough days.

With just enough training and all of the 800m experience one can gain in 5 years of racing the event, AJ Pulice ran a brilliant final on Saturday. With 3 guys entered between 1:50-1:51, and another at 1:53, a fifth place finish appeared to be a reasonable goal for AJ, and perhaps a 6th place run for his frosh teammate Overton. Pulice moved well in the second lap and as Bjorquez dropped from the field, he was suddenly running in fourth place and moving on third with 200m remaining. Pulling out all stops Pulice rolled by Humboldt's Ben Tarango and moved into third place. Racing down the final straight Tarango appeared at times to be making up the feet that he'd given up to Pulice, but the senior Wildcat refused to give in. After the two pre-race favorites placed 1-2 Pulice hit the tape less than a second behind 2nd, and only .12 ahead of Tarango for the final podium spot. What a great run for Pulice! For all of the experience and training that Pulice had to bolster this effort, Overton had a small fraction of, and it showed a bit as the youngster fought hard and finished a respectable 7th overall. Given that Andrew had never raced over 1 lap before last track season, and given that he has three more full seasons ahead and a new 1:54 PR, I like his chances of challenging for the podium next year.

Women's 5,000m:
The women's 5k would bring a rematch of Granados and Anderson from the earlier 1500m. Knowing just how dangerous Anderson was over the final lap, a plan was hatched to make the early pace of the race at least relatively honest enough to put everyone in the field in some distress, and then for Ayla to attack from at least a mile out.

Lora James doubled back from the 800m to provide some pacing work at the front of the field. A first 1600m of 5:38 was a job well done, and now Granados inherited the lead. Although leading, Ayla did a wonderful job of keeping the pace honest enough to dispatch one athlete after another, but saving her legs for a final push over the last 1600m. Moving up from 8-10th positions in the first mile, teammates Sara Mikesell and Quetta Peinado rolled past individuals who were kicked off the lead pack by Granados' even pace, and one by one their places became closer and closer to the podium.

Without even shifting a gear yet, Anderson finally appeared to crack at around 3200m. Seeing this from the outside, yours truly encouraged Ayla to quicken the tempo, to in essence serve the final blow to the gritty Stanislaus runner. Ayla did this to perfection, notching the pace down with each revolution. Despite the upper 80's degree heat, Ayla managed to run the final 800m in the low 2:30's, while earning her first track CCAA Title. Peinado and Mikesell closed well also, passing CSLA's Lopez en route to their 3-4 finish. Not to be left out, RS frosh Haley Kroll, running her first race of the season gave the 'Cats 4 of the 8 scoring positions with her 8th place finish. Given that the final deficit in the team scoring was less than 10 points, this race was a defining effort that put the 'Cats over the top for good against the Tritons.

Men's 5,000m: When the men's 5k goes off at the CCAA Championships there's a bit of pride at stake for the Chico men. It's been since 2001 since someone Not wearing the Chico kit has won this race. San Diego would send a pair of fresh young talents to the line in Tanner Collins (14:28 pr) and Tareq Alwafai (14:31 PR) and the majority of the Chico contingent would be doubling back from either the 10k or the 1500's earlier. Also fresh was sub 14:30 guy Ryan Carrell of Pomona. Knowing that our guys would be a bit tired from their earlier races, UCSD sent a few doubling athletes to the front to set a quick early pace that brought the front group through 1600 in 4:41. Given the 85 degree temps, this honest clip took a quick toll on most of the field, and the second half of the race would be a bit of a death march for most who tried to follow the lead group.

As RS Frosh Aaron Mora fell from the pace, along with 14:14 5k guy Dayne Gradone, it was evident that if our streak was to continue that Isaac Chavez would have to be the man to do it. Thankfully Chavez was up to the task, digging in and withstanding the brisk early laps. As the UCSD pacers peeled from the pack Collins and Alwafai tried their hardest to keep the pace going, but the tough conditions were taking their toll on the pair. Sensing that his time to strike was at hand, Chavez seized the front after the 2 mile mark, dropping the pace back to 70 per lap. With each circuit, the senior from Barstow would put more distance between himself and the field. Knowing that he was about to carve his name into the list of CCAA 5k champs along with many other All Americans, Isaac enjoyed the final laps, and sailed through the line with an 8 second cushion over Collins. Also running a gutsy race for the 'Cats was Tesfai who would take 4th after doubling back from the winning 15 earlier in the day. Aaron Mora would give the 'Cats 3 of the top-7 while scoring his first CCAA points in his young career.

Concluding thoughts:
After all events had been contested it was completely awesome to once again have the opportunity to relish in another pair of CCAA titles. Both men's and women's teams across the board had risen to yet another CCAA opportunity. Jumpers, Throwers, Sprinters, Distance Runners, had all stepped up and placed the Chico name back atop the CCAA heap for yet another year. Given the spirit of this group, I have to say it was especially rewarding as well.

Now our attention turns to a pair of last chance meets where NCAA hopefuls with provisional marks take another crack at their events.. while others with NCAA marks, will fine tune a bit before enjoying a bye week leading up to the big dance. NCAA's are to be contested in 2 weeks in Allendale, Michigan, with Grand Valley State hosting. We're extremely excited about our opportunities in Allendale.. especially since it's NOT in Colorado. ;v)

Thanks for reading through and for following the 'Cats. We're extremely grateful for the support that we've enjoyed and excited for the opportunities that lie ahead.