The Chico State Distance-'Cats enjoyed another sparkling weekend at the Chico Distance Carnival and Chico Twilight Invitationals on Friday and Saturday evenings. Highlights included Ayla Granados' 2:11.74 800m win (#2 AT CSUC), and Alex McGuirk's 3:50 1500m win (NCAA Provisional). Despite placing most of the distance rosters in the 1500's (given the previous weekend of racing, and the impending Mt Sac Invite) the home squad still scored many top places in the longer races over the weekend as well.

Women's Invitational 800m: With two marks that should get her to the NCAA Championships Olivia Watt was solicited to do some pacework for the women's 800m on Friday. Knowing the field wouldn't provide the pace or competitive power to garner a 2:10-2:11 type mark, Watt was game for creating a solid pace through 600m. Teammates Ayla Granados (2:13 PR) and Bailey Henshaw (2:11 last week at SF) would tuck in and go for a ride through 600m and see what they could close with. Lora James, who had been unable to run for all of February and most of March would make her seasonal debut after a modest 3 weeks of modified workouts.

Watt did a masterful job of creating the pace at the front, taking Granados and Henshaw through early splits of 30.5, 63.5, and 1:37. Down the backstretch Granados looked engaged and comfortable on the heels of Watt, but Henshaw gave a few meters of separation before surging back to the pair's heels just before the final turn was begun. The pair came off the final turn separated by only a few feet but the strength of Granados prevailed in the final 50m with Ayla hitting the tape in 2:11.74. Henshaw tied up in the final meters giving up a full second but still clocking a 2:12. After a planned conservative start Lora James jumped on the final 200m and finished 3rd in a surprisingly swift 2:16 (PR!). Coach Trevino's Erin Eicholtz also clocked a PR with her 2:18 run.

Men's Invitational 800m: Senior AJ Pulice has had a rough final year of eligibility. First a foot issue limited much of February and March's training. Just as the foot started to improve, he caught Strep Throat, of which he's just recovering from. On Friday the scrappy racer did a wonderful job of measuring what he had in the tank and moved into third place for good at the 650m mark of the Invitational heat of the men's 800m. Southern Oregon's Kevin Jorgensen and Chico State alum Kyle Robinson duked it out at the front for the win. Coach Trevino's Kyle Fales ran a seasonal best 1:55, while 800m newbie Andrew Overton spotted the players a few too many meters in the early going before storming back for his second best mark all time (1:56).

Men's 5,000m: Coach Anthony Costales volunteered for pacing duties as a prep for his upcoming Mt Sac 10k attempt. He took what started as a sizeable pack through early splits that hovered around 15:00 pace (4:48 @ 1600) and gradually brought the pace down. As Costales dropped the laps into the 71.0 range the pack strung out and soon one last 'Cat sat on his heels in search of a PR.

Junior Alan Cuevas who's had a laundry list of injuries since running 14:47 as a true frosh. With a kilometer remaining Costales left the oval and Cuevas was now on his own. Alan did a superb job of keeping the pace healthy, dropping 70, and 69 second laps before a solid final 200m and eventually tying his PR with a 14:47 victory. Teammates Omar Pulido and Dillon Breen also enjoyed solid outings placing 2nd and 4th overall respectively. Geoff Bogan would place 6th, but a late race fade left him some distance off his 14:50 PR unfortunately.

Women's Steeplechase: The Chico women are VERY young in the steeple, both in age & experience. So much so that until this weekend, we didn't have anyone sitting in scoring position on the CCAA formcharts. RS Frosh McCall Habermehl who's top event in HS was the 300m hurdles, has increased her fitness and strength substantially, so much so that she earned All CCAA honors in XC this fall. Given that she's a natural fit on paper for the steeple we started prep work for the barrier event in February. All went well until her first attempt at the water jump, when she bruised her heel upon landing. Despite not attempting another jump that day, the damage was done and nearly an entire week of training was missed, plus second week of no intervals. Given the limited timeline to use, McCall just returned to attempt the water jump last week, and thankfully it went well.

On Saturday she joined red shirting frosh Montana Loveday as the only two contestants in the steeple field. Unfortunately for McCall her debut potentially represented her only chance at scoring a spot on the CCAA line-up for the 'Cats, so there was much riding on this maiden voyage. The Woodcreek HS alum did a good job of pacing notching a few opening laps in the 90 range, before settling in on a series of 93 second laps. With 600m remaining she dropped to a 91, and a final 200m with a kick gave her a very impressive 11:35 debut. This puts her in the realm of a scoring spot in the CCAA, and is one of our better steeple debut's in school history.

Montana ran well through 1600m but fell asleep a bit in the final 3.5 laps, where quite a bit of time was given up.

Men's Invitational 1500m: The men's Invite 1500m has always been a featured event at the twilight meet, since it's inception when Scotty Bauhs cracked the 4 minute barrier for the mile in 2008. This year another stellar field was assembled with a good number of guys coming in with seed times in the low 3:50's. Wildcat 800m guy AJ Pulice was solicited to take the pace through in an even 61 seconds per lap and hopefully for the better part of a kilometer. AJ did a great job of nailing the pace hitting 400m in 61, and 800m in 2:03. With a bit of a headwind going into the backstretch (We had a rare South wind blowing in the evening) AJ threw in one last gasp exiting the track just before 1K.

Newly minted steeple school record holder Alex McGuirk took the front and it was obvious that his goal was to finish under the 3:50 mark (Pre race PR-3:54). Teammate Phil Graber was engaged and looking hungry at 500m just off McGuirk's heels. A slight gap formed as McGuirk and Graber ran toward the bell, with a large pack following several meters behind. Alex pressed hard into the breezy backstretch and unfortunately Graber (who's on antibiotics for an infection) hit an invisible wall. As Graber fell from the pace, Falco DiGiallonardo found a gear that looked like it could potentially catch McGuirk. Coming off the final turn Alex was in a world of pain and glances back to see who might be catching him didn't help his chances of entering the world of the 3:40's.

McGuirk would find the tape first in a huge 3:50.89 PR, with Red Shirting true frosh Kyle Medina closing hard to finish second in 3:51.37. Southern Oregon's Jared Hixon ran a heck of a final 200m to finish 3rd (3:51.58) and Dayne Gradone (who'd spent the initial 400m in dead last) worked his magic to move all the way to a 4th place 3:51 finish (3:53-former PR). Falco would hold on for fifth (3:51.9 PR). Wildcat Germay Tesfai nearly hit the NCAA provisional standard (3:53.00) with his 3:53.38. A slew of Wildcats would hit the finish plane before 4:00 had expired, making it one of the better mass finishes for our team in some time.

Women's Invitational 1500m: With no one in the field other than Chico's Ayla Granados, and Olivia Watt who had run under the 4:40 mark, the plan was for the aforementioned NCAA qualifiers to run at the front together at a 75 second clip per lap, before hammering the final 300m in an effort to practice closing tactical races. Another sub-plots in the women's 15 was the attempt by Senior Sara Mikesell to FINALLY get under the 4:50 hump. A year ago Sara ran 4:51 at the same meet, and after a big 5k PR at SF a week ago, she was ready to run 4:40-something.

The race went very close to the hoped scripted pre-race plan. Ayla and Olivia ran very even 75-something laps, and teammate Bailey Henshaw trailed the pair closely through 800m (2:31ish split). Henshaw bagan to fade a bit over the next 100m (she was dealing with a shin issue and was unable to toe-off in her stride) and youth sensation Rylee Bowen made the move around, and onto the heels of the two leaders. Knowing that many women would jump out quickly, only to fade over the second half of the race, Sara Mikesell and Quetta Peinado worked through the field with each passing stretch, operating well under the 4:50 pace threshold.

As Granados and Watt hit the 1200m (3:45 split) they shifted gears nicely, eventually recording 4:37/4:38 1-2 finishes. Bowen would hit the tape in 4:41, and Wildcat steeple record holder Amy Schnittger would take fourth place in a near PR of 4:44.0. Closing Very well was Quetta Peinado and Sara Mikesell who each smashed the 4:50 mark easily with their twin 4:44 clockings. Bailey Henshaw would struggle in with a 4:49 time, while teammate Bekah Bahra would run a bitter sweet 4:50 PR.



Men's Seeded 1500m: The men's seeded race was on paper full of guys who were either trying to dip under the 4:00 barrier, or run in the low 4:0's. Wildcat Cesar Patino would create the early pace, but was just off the 64 second target, getting the pack through 400m in 65, and 800 in 2:10ish. As Patino dropped Senior Rogan Meza took the front knowing that the pace had to be brought down if anyone was to get under 4:00. Meza did a nice job of quickening the tempo, without washing away his chances of closing well in the final lap.

As the pack hit the bell Southern Oregon's Trevor Lynn seized the lead in an effort to steal the race. Gapping the field by several meters Lynn was definitely on pace to close the final lap under 60 seconds. Chico's RS Frosh Aaron Mora made his "all in" move from 300m out, hitting the jets down the backstretch. In almost no time he caught and passed Lynn. Also moving well over the final lap was Chico's Johnny Sanchez who caught and pulled along Meza. Although he was straining down the stretch, Aaron Mora managed to stop the clock in 3:59.75 for the win. Meza and Sanchez had miss timed their final push as the pair collectively missed the 3:50's by just over a second. Pr's were still had by all three, as they were by teammates Andrew Cobourn, Andrew Overton, and Geoff Hull.

Women's Seeded 1500m: The seeded 1500 for the women was quite a race to watch. After the initial pace was relatively modest (80-81 first lap) Tiffany Heflin grabbed the front and ran what was probably close to a 76ish second circuit. The pack seemed content to allow Heflin to sail off the front, until former Stanislaus standout April Montgomery gave chase. During the third lap, the just returning from injury, Lora James decided to give it a go for the front as well. Heflin was caught first by Montgomery, but just as the former Warrior probably thought she had the race in hand, James blew by her while clocking a 71 second final revolution for the win. Lora's 4:50 final time was quite a feat, given that she missed all of February and most of March with injuries. McCall Habermehl, doubling back from her steeple debut the evening before closed well to grab a 4th place 5:00 finish. Red Shirting true frosh Hannah Dorman who'd chased James into the bell, hit a bit of a wall, but still managed a 5:02.

Up Next: A handful of 'Cats will compete at the Cal State East Bay Legacy meet next weekend. Another group of 20ish 'Cats will head South to LA to take crack at NCAA marks at either the Mt Sac or Beach Invitationals. A much needed Bye week will then precede the CCAA Championships which will be hosted by UC San Diego in the first weekend of May.

Coach Hanf take on the meet:
OOMG! What a great meet!! The Chico State Top 10 list took a major whopping throughout our 2-day home meet. The Chico Distance Carnival & Chico Twilight Invitational was contested in near perfect spring-like conditions in front of a large crowd which included many of our alumni. Some or our alumni even competed. More on that later. After a weekend of dividing and conquering in 4 different cities last weekend the Wildcats united in our home stadium to conquer the record books. The "games" began on Friday afternoon with the women's javelin. Our freshman pole vault sensation Taylor Sack arrived on the javelin scene this weekend. She went from a 104' thrower who was ranked 14th in the conference to a 129' thrower who is now ranked 3rd! A 25' PR! Two years ago she was an 8'6 vaulter/16.1 hurdler as a junior in HS. Now she is the highest vaulting/farthest spear chucking freshman our school has ever had. She is ranked 6th best all-time in the vault and 7th in the javelin. What a fine addition to this team!

Not to be outdone by the Field Event activity, our 800 meter runners lit up the oval as the flood lights kicked on at 7:30 post meridian. In a loaded field which included our new school record holder Olivia Watt serving as rabbit, front pack was led around the first revolution in 63s and to 600m in 1:37. As her work was completed Ayla Granados took over the reigns and charged home the final 200m meters to win in a time of 2:11.73- the 2nd fastest time in school history. Granados is currently ranked 3rd in the nation in the 5K (16:47) and 5th in the 1500 (4:28). The senior from Castro Valley HS/Butte College is nearing the post-season in excellent form and gives the team lots of options to score points in the meets that mean the most. Teammate Bailey Henshaw finished 2nd second at 2:12.81 while Lora James placed 3rd, setting a PR for the first time in 3 years. The RS sophomore from Shasta HS (born and raised in Wales) has battled various ailments during her first two years and this was her first meet of this season. Welcome back Lora!! Erin Eicholtz also set a PR finishing in 6th at 2:18.50. McCall Habermehl was also a winner Friday, taking first place in the 3K steeplechase with a time of 11:35.13. It was the first time the redshirt freshman from Woodcreek HS (Roseville) contested a Steeplechase race. The HS 300m hurdler made All-CCAA in Cross Country last fall and is now ranked 7th in the conference. Not a bad start to her career!

Saturday was a big day for our sprinters...both current student-athletes and visiting alumni. Amilia Santos took top honors in the 100-meter dash - her personal-best time of 11.94 is the fourth-fastest 100 in Wildcat history. Santos also matched her PR time of 25.35 seconds en route to a third place finish in the 200-meter dash. Kasey Barnett had another outstanding performance and for the 5th time in 6 weeks was named CCAA athlete of the week. She won the long jump, bettering her NCAA Provisional Qualifying mark with the fourth-best jump (19-feet-10.25) in Chico State history. She also finished 3rd in the 100 with an NCAA Provisional and PR time of 12.04 seconds, which places her seventh on top 10 list. Brooke Whitburn lost a tiebreaker to Barnett in the long jump, but her second place leap of 19-feet-10.25 ties her for 1st in the conference, 1st in the nation and fourth place on the all-time Wildcat top 10 list. Jen (Haws) Stuart went from 3rd on the AT list to 5th in a 5 min span. Senior Heptathlete Sarah Hockensmith placed 6th with a huge PR jump of 18'6". That's only 1.5 inches from tying Abbey Butler (2003) and Heather Halliday (1994) for 10th on the AT list.

Ashley Jones reached the all-time Wildcat top 10 in two different events. She won the 200 with a PR time of 24.81 seconds (5th AT) and was 4th in the 100 a 12.07. Her 12.03 in the preliminaries 7th best in our history. Our 4 x 100 relay team was on pace to smash the school record and emerge high on the NCAA list. As Aja was about to pass the stick to Kasey the Wildcats were in the lead. SF State won the race in 46.54. There's no question the 'Cats would have been at least .2 faster but an uncharacteristic mistimed hand-off ended with the baton hitting the ground and dashing our hopes for a week. They'll be back for redemption. Santos, Jones, Erskine and Barnett will be a highly motivated team and primed to win the CCAA crown.

Lora James was first to cross the finish line in the 1,500-meter seeded event, notching a personal best time of 4:50.64. Ayla Granados was the first of three top five Chico State finishers in the 1,500-meter invitational, delivering a winning time of 4:37.12. Olivia Watt placed second (4:38.17), while Quetta Peinado came in fifth with a PR time of 4:44.75. For many of the fans the highlight of the meet was seeing the alumni competition...the Konas on Nord 60m dash. The first heat was named "the babies" and the results were as follows: Michael Beeman ('12)- 7.20 Dwight Aitkens ('10)- 7.21 Brian Beeman ('10)-7.66 Zach Wales ('12)-7.72 Carlos Suarez ('12)- 7.73 Travis Folsom ('12) 7.75, running barefoot! The premier race was from the "I'm an Experienced Runner group": Rocky Morris ('95)- 7.79 Dave Marden ('88)- 7.83 Dan Armolea ('87)- 8.09 Chelsey Jenkins ('89)- 8.25

What a thrill to see those guys in action! Also in the stadium was 7'1" high jumper Bryan Barton ('89) and 2005 Triple Jump All-American Peter Francis. Peter made the finals in the TJ-9 years after graduation, and sailed to a distance of 43'10". 2011 grad Jake Nelson placed 5th in the Javelin (179'11") while his teammate Cody "Feed the Horse" Uebelhardt slung the spear 143'7", which makes him the farthest throwing officer in the Chico PD. Joey Johnson, J P Smith, Teddy Elsenbaumer and John Brunk ran 41.15 seconds to provide another of the night's biggest highlights: the sixth fastest 400-meter relay in school history. Their winning time is an NCAA Provisional Qualifying mark and the fastest by a Chico State squad in 13 years. Four other Wildcats also nabbed provo marks: Alex McGuirk and Dayne Gradone in the 1,500 meters and Hakeem Dyson and Sean Goetzl in the 110-meter hurdles. Dyson won the hurdles in a time of 14.51. Sean Goetzl joined Dyson on the NCAA Provisional Qualifying and Chico State all-time Top 10 lists with a 14.58 PR- 5th fastest in school history. McGuirk won the 1,500 meter Invitational in 3:50.89 and Gradone finished fourth in 3:51.81. Both times are PRs (4s for Alex!). High flying jumper Michael Souza had some nice attempts at 6'10 3/4" but had to settle for a 2nd place finish at 6'8 3/4" Some fantastic photos were captured, mostly from Skip Reager.