The 2014 track season finished off with plenty of fireworks for the Chico State Wildcats. Beautiful weather, clean air and quality facilities provided an excellent setting for our top athletes to perform at their best at the national championships held this year at Allendale, Michigan the home of Grand Valley State. Three weeks after our men and women captured another CCAA team title the Wildcats were geared up to make a big slash on the national scene. Our men's team hauled in 7 All-American awards...the most in 10 years. Two more All-Americans were crowned on our women's team giving our program 9 more to add to our rich history.

The 2014 track season has offered a little of everything. Records were achieved, honors were earned, and at times, things didn't turn out quite as we might have scripted them. Much like the season as a whole, the NCAA meet held a little of everything, as 5 distance 'Cats (3 men and 2 women) joined a trio of Decathletes, a high jumper, and the women's 4 X 100m relay team to create another memorable championship experience. Anchored by the 1st ,2nd, and 6th place finishes of our Decathletes (JP Smith, Teddy Elsenbaumer, and John Brunk) the Chico men's team scored 31 points and took home a school record-tying 6th place team finish. Alex McGuirk added points toward this finish with his 4th place finish in the men's steeplechase, while Isaac Chavez chipped in several more points with his 6th place 10k run. High jumper Michael Souza also nabbed an important point in the High Jump, that ended up providing a scant cushion between the 'Cats and hosts Grand Valley State.

On the women's side the 'Cats would endure a roller coaster weekend that was topped by Ayla Granados' (2nd ranked in 1500) fall in the 1500m final with just 200m remaining. Thankfully Granados shook off the tragic 1500 to finish 6th in the 5k (Ranked only 12th going in) to earn her first All American honor on the oval. Overall, 3 of the 'Cats 5 distance runners would walk away with All American honors, and valuable experience was gained by the 3 who have eligibility remaining (McGuirk, Watt, and Maizland). Onward to the racing..


NCAA Championships 2014 - Decathlon competition
Senior decathletes J Patrick Smith, Teddy Elsenbaumer and John Brunk propelled the team into the national lead after 2 days, scoring 21 team points in one event! Alex McGuirk (Steeplechase), Isaac Chavez (10K) and Michael Souza (High Jump) garnered 10 additional points to help the men's team to finish with a point total of 31 (second highest in team history) and a 6th place finish (tied for the best ever). J P was the first to land on the scoreboard, leaping 24'3" in the open long jump to place 8th. He was able to fit 3 long jumps in between events 4 and 5 of his Decathlon. Earlier in the day he broke the Division 2 Decathlon record in the long jump with a personal record jump of 24'11" (that mark would have placed 3rd in the open competition). He kicked off the Dec with a 10.78 in the 100 and also got a huge shot put PR (42'4").

While the trio of Chico 10-eventers faired quite well on the first day, they shined even more on Day 2. A flared up patellar tendon hampered Teddy; he was quite limited in the HJ on day one the start of day 2 was compromised as he suffered through a painful hurdle race. He bounced back by throwing 140' in the discus...an 11' PR! One year after his no-height in the nationals pole vault, Ted shucked the monkey off his back by clearing his opening height. He kept clearing bars and ended up with a mark of 14'9". Brunk had 3 PRs on day 2 including a 15'1" vault clearance. He was the king of the final event, winning the 1500 in a time of 4:23. JP's point total of 7645, exceeded his previous school record of 7612, and propelled him to a 3rd-straight NCAA title, an achievement that has only happened one other time. His 2 All-American awards give him a career total of 4. He finished one place out of All-American his freshman year. Teddy elevated all the way to #2 on our all-time top 10 list with a score 7438 to earn his first AA award and to give Chico State it's first ever 1-2 finish in a decathlon. Mr. Brunk is now 3rd on the school list with a mark of 7351, placing 6th, to earn his 2nd All-American honor. He finished 4th in 2012.



Thursday-Day 1 NCAA Championships

After two years of windy, hot, and oxygen deprived air in Pueblo, Colorado it was great to take our latest NCAA journey to Allendale, Michigan. Daily temps hovered around 70 each day, and the winds were consistent, yet manageable, and usually died off as the sun began to set. On Thursday all 5 Distance 'Cats would step to the track to start their 2014 NCAA experience. Four would run prelims in either 1500's or steeples, and Isaac Chavez would contest the men's 10k final. We'll start with the men's steeple.

Men's Steeplechase Prelim: Alex McGuirk would step to the line in Heat 1 of the men's steeple ranked 1st, but given his last place showing a year ago in the prelims, there was an element of nervousness that is present until one has finally taken that step forward. With four automatically qualifying on to the final, and with some newly developed speed in his back pocket (3:50 1500 pr) McGuirk cruised through the early laps in pedestrian (for him) splits that hovered around 75 seconds per revolution. As the pace at the front picked up McGuirk easily responded. The penultimate lap was around 70 and there were still 5 in the main group, so Alex assumed the lead to ensure the big "Q" that is awarded the top-4 in each heat. The Junior from Mountain View notched the pace down to a 67 and cruised through the line with a heat win and a pretty causal 9:12 final time. With this run Alex qualified for his first NCAA final and looked great in doing so. The relatively modest times posted in heat 1 would help teammate Barron Maizland's chances of qualifying on to the final off time as well.

Junior Barron Maizland knew that if he could finish among the top 7-8 in his heat while running a 9:15ish mark, that he would join his teammate McGuirk in the final. Playing his cards perfectly Maizland stuck at the back of his heat while recording relatively swift 72-73 second revolutions. As the race really began to evolve in the final kilometer Maizland looked great, shifting into the 71-72 range from 1200m out. With 100m remaining Maizland ran in 5th place with a Nebraska Kearney athlete on his heels. A misstep going into the final barrier caused Maizland to catch his foot on the final obstacle and down he went. Thankfully he was quick in getting back to his feet, and the only visible damage was the non-factor passing of the Nebraska Kearney athlete, as they both easily punched their tickets to the final with 9:07 and :08 clockings. Minus the fall Barron appeared on pace to at least tie his 9:06 PR, but that attempt would have to wait for the final the following day.

Women's 1500m Prelim: RS Soph Olivia Watt would run in the first heat of the women's 1500 one year after failing to make the final of the CCAA Championships in the 800m. Now she stood on the line with the nations best 1500m runners, and was determined to make the Saturday final. This would be Olivia's first race since a nearly week long illness that hammered her post CCAA week. Workouts had started to look more like normal, but given that the volume of the workouts had decreased it was hard to say whether she was fully recovered. Either way, it was full steam ahead for Watt, who took the bull by the horns in going out in 67 seconds through 400m on the heels of pre-race favorite Courtney Anderson of Stanislaus. Anderson slowed the second lap to a 75 second clip and now things were bunched again. Looking more like a veteran than a rookie on the NCAA stage Watt ran the next 300m in 55 seconds and was among the leaders at the bell. Covering all moves that needed to be covered Olivia ran within a few strides of the leader at 1400m. Sprinting down the final straightaway Watt looked great until she hit an invisible wall with 50m to go. The stride began to slow and a few precious places and seconds were lost. She hit the tape 7th, but her 70 final lap had still given her a solid 4:30.3 final time. This is pretty quick for a prelim run and almost always good enough to advance on time. Now we would have to wait for Heat II to see whether her mark would beat the 6th place runner.

Heat II: Much like her teammate Alex McGuirk, Ayla Granados had a bit of a hurdle to get over mentally with the 1500m prelim, after having endured a last place finish in her heat at NCAA's the year before. Any signs of nerves were never present for the 2nd ranked Granados, who seized the lead from the gun and controlled the pace at the fore with each lap. Ayla ran superbly notching splits of 71, 73, 53 (300m to bell) and a 69 closer to win her heat. CCAA foe Stanislaus' Marina Vorderbruegge had placed second just a tenth back, and the all important 6th place time was only 4:31.09, which guaranteed Olivia Watt her spot in the final. The 'Cats would join Stanislaus as the two squads with more than one competitor in the final.

Men's 10,000m: Senior Isaac Chavez has made a living from running fast 10k's while at Chico State. Going into Thursday's 10k final Isaac had already accumulated 4 XC All American Awards (over 10k distances), as well as 2 on the track at 10k. His only missed 10k opportunity was in '12 at the NCAA Championships when a swollen tendon in his ankle derailed his NCAA run, resulting in a "DNF". He went into Thursday's final with some solid recent workouts in his back pocket, many of which were altering paced sessions to prepare specifically for the surging type races that NCAA 10k finals tend to be. Just as anticipated the pace of this year's 25 lap championship race was very much all over the board. Generally the Kenyans enjoy fartleking affairs and there were only a few top Kenyans in the field (Michael Biwott/Isaiah Samoi), but the pace somehow managed to run anywhere between 69-76 per lap in the first half of the race nevertheless.

From the start 28:40 guy Aaron Dinzeo dropped several 69 second revolutions before stepping aside and allowing someone else to take the front. With Dinzeo off the pace, the fourth lap was a pedestrian 75, but the field still split 4:46 for 1600m. A much slower second mile was recorded as the field ran a 5:02 1600. The third mile brought a quickening of the pace with a final 800m of 2:21 taking athletes through a 5k split of 15:18. Through all of this, Isaac Chavez looked relatively controlled running through 5k with the rest of the 20 competitors. The fourth 1600m was covered in 4:50, which was still shy of the pace that everyone had run just to qualify for the event, but several athletes were falling from the main pack.

With 8 laps remaining Southern Indiana's Johnnie Guy, a 9:03 HS 3200m runner who'd transferred to SIU from Purdue took a huge risk and dropped a 63 second lap. This was in essence the start of the real "race within the race." The pack now scattered around the track as each tried to cover Guy's move to the best of their abilities, knowing that 7 laps still remained before the finish. Sub groups formed over the next 1600m, and Isaac landed in a group of 2-3 as he'd only run a 68 for the same lap that Guy had notched the 63. As is usually the case though, the pace settles among groups, and Isaac did a splendid job of locking on a sub 70 second pattern per lap, that moved him from 10th to 8th in laps 18-21. Fighting hard over the final 1600 to catch Adams State's Jovanny Godinez and Lock Haven's Jr World Championship qualifier Alex Monroe, Isaac moved past Isaiah Samoei and Sean Gildea. Although he wouldn't quite catch Monroe and Godinez he would close with a 64 final revolution finishing on the heels of Monroe.

Guy's decisive move ended up being a winning one, as the 6'4 Illinois native would hold off Biwott for the eventual victory. Isaac's final 5k was timed in 14:38 and with that he would earn his 3rd All American certificate for the 10k. With this run our first All American of the '14 year was crowned and with the previous 4 teammates all making their respective finals, Thursday was a very solid day of competition for the Distance 'Cats.

 

Friday-Day 2 NCAA Championships

Today's limited session would offer the prelims of the 800m, and the 3k steeple finals.

Women's 800m Prelim: Having run an all out effort to grab the final 1500m "q" spot, Olivia Watt turned her thoughts toward trying to make the 2 lap final. Not one to concede anything other than giving her best effort Olivia Watt ran with the pack in her 800m heat. Rolling through 400m in 61.8 and running in the final position in her heat, Watt, hung on strong in the second lap. Unfortunately the quick first lap would come with consequences, and Olivia faded a bit over the final 400m. her 2:13.5 would leave her quite short of the 2:09 needed to make the final but Olivia had once again given her all, while gaining some experience of NCAA racing. both of which will come in handy as she looks to the 2015 season.

Men's Steeplechase Final: During the drive to the track on Friday Alex McGuirk rode shotgun next to yours' truly, and we talked about the possible scenarios that could potentially play out with the men's steeple. With Adams State's 8:38 guy Tabor Stevens (Also defending NCAA XC Champion) standing as the clear favorite, but also a pivotal cog in the Adams' title hopes, we felt the odds were that Stevens would run with the field for some time before making a push to the finish in the second half of the race. This would save his legs for the 5k final the next evening. Of course there was that chance that he would grab the lead and go for a fast mark as well, and this was also brought up. In any event, the plan for Alex was to focus on Stevens, and hopefully that would help pull him clear of the remainder of the field. For Chico's Barron Maizland the plan was to mark the 8th position from behind in hopes that the modestly seeded runner could perhaps sneak onto the podium. What wasn't known going into the final was that Barron had strained his hip during the fall the day before, which he would tell me after the race was quite limiting.

From the gun it was apparent that Stevens was cutting against the grain and going for a fast time and clear victory from the front. Running the first 240m in 38 seconds Stevens had the lead, and only Chico's McGuirk went with this bold move. Thinking that Stevens might settle during the second lap Alex tucked in behind the 6 foot 8 frame of Stevens, but the following circuit was covered in a wicked 65 seconds. Knowing that this was not a sustainable pace Alex downshifted and settled into several 71 second laps. Norwegian star Harold Karbo would make his way past McGuirk, as would Colorado School of Mines' Tyler Curtis (8:53 pr). Stevens' pace at the front mellowed a bit over the second half of the race, but the gritty runner would still hold on to a meet record 8:35.05 win.

The early laps were taking their toll on Alex in the second half as he fell into 5th place with several laps remaining, and Mines' #2 guy looked ready to pass him. Just in the nick of time McGuirk caught a second wind of sorts, and his legs seemed to be back under him again. Momentum built over the final 400m and a final sprint sent him past Metro State's Kirk Harvey and into a fourth place finish. Teammate Barron Maizland struggled over the final 1200 giving up places from his 8th position at 1600m. Maizland would finish a disappointing 12th, but his 9:11 finish time was still faster than his PR coming into the season, and given the hip issues there was nothing to be disappointed in. Alex' fourth place effort earned some valuable team points toward the 'Cats eventual 6th place team finish, and of course earned the Junior his first All American honor.

Saturday-Day 3 NCAA Championships

Women's 1500m Final: The women's 1500 was easily the most gut-wrenching race that I've ever endured as a coach. Senior Ayla Granados has enjoyed an amazing season while chopping an incredible 8 seconds from her previous best for 1500m during the course of the year. Her 4:21 school record was run at the West Coast Last Chance Invite several weeks ago as she finished on the heels of CCAA and NCAA foe Courtney Anderson of Stanislaus State. The pair entered the 1500m final ranked 1-2 in the NCAA and Ayla was ready to challenge Anderson and the field to see who would finish first in the race.

At the gun Stanislaus' Anderson sprinted the first 100m in under 15 seconds, with teammate Marina Vorderbrugge on her outside shoulder. Sensing that the Stanislaus pair might be leading things out too quickly Ayla decided to tuck into the pack to lessen the potential blow of a really quick first lap. In the second 200m of the race the Stanislaus pair slowed the pace considerably as a bunched field hit 400m in 71.0. Ayla ran on the rail in 7-8th position, but only a fraction of a second from the lead. Olivia Watt ran near the back of the 12 woman field with the goal of hanging on the pace for as long as she could, and hopefully battling for a potential scoring position in the later stages of the race. A 73 second revolution brought the 12 athletes through 800m in 2:24, and did nothing to separate the field.

As athletes went into the third lap, anxiety was high and athletes looked for ways to increase their positioning for what would surely be a big kicking final lap. The entire 12 person field ran through the bell on a sub 4:30 pace, but with less than 1 second separating Anderson (front) from Watt (back). This was anyone's race still on paper and athletes were growing impatient inside the tight pack. As the field entered the backstretch for the final time Granados ran on the rail third in line behind Courtney Anderson and Southwest Baptist's Elizabeth Luckel. Getting antsy on the rail and wanting to look for an opening to move Luckel moved into the outside of Lane 1, and Granados quickly took her spot on the rail now on the heels of Stanislaus' Anderson. Vorderbrugge still ran in second next to her teammate, as she had the entire race.

As the pack entered the final turn Luckel made a move that would in essence ruin the race for Ayla and Harding's 4:25 gal Ewa Zabrowska. With her torso only several feet in front of Granados, Luckel made a move to regain a spot close to the rail in lane 1. This in essence pinched Granados into the rail and in a flash the Chico senior's legs were out of under her and she was on the track with Zabrowska falling on top of her. While Granados and Zabrowska lie on the track Anderson and Vorderbruegge would race to an eventual 1-2 finish. Luckel, who's own momentum wasn't impeded would finish 5th. A stunned Granados would get back on her feet and finish the race hitting the tape 10th overall. A gassed Olivia Watt who wasn't involved in the pile-up had lost her legs over the final 300m eventually finished 12th.

About 2-3 minutes after the race had finished the emotions and the reality of what had just happened hit Ayla all at once. Tears were shed and frustration of months and years of work all going away in one fall hit the senior hard. Fellow Chico State athletes and alum who were there to support our team consoled Ayla and over the next 15-20 minutes her mind had shifted toward the 5k opportunity that would lie ahead in several hours. The 12th ranked 5k runner would now go into the 12.5 lapper with a lot to prove and a huge amount of frustration to spread throughout the race.

Men's 5,000m: Isaac Chavez and Alex McGuirk would contest the men's 5k final after each had earned All American honors in their earlier events (10k for Chavez/Steeple for McGuirk). With the fresh athletes at the front of the field creating a fast pace throughout Chavez hit 1600 in 4:34 (running in around 12-15th place). Chavez would hit 3200m in 9:09, still running in the second half of a large pack. McGuirk had fallen from the pace after 1600 and having already earned his AA award and w/ no chance at repeating this, fade into the distance with each passing lap.

The third mile brought a predictable pace-change from the front and Chavez was now cast off the lead pack and was now one of the many scrambling for a hoped All American spot. With splits slowing into the low 70 second range the final All American spot drifted farther and farther ahead of the tiring Barstow native. Isaac's final 1k was covered in 2:51 and a solid final lap placed him 11th overall at the finish. With this finish one of the most decorated careers in Chico State Athletics history came to a close. The 7 time All American battled hard to the end and can now turn his sights to the teaching credentials program next year, as well as the pursuit of an Olympic Trials marathon qualifying mark, which he will go after next January if all goes according to plan.

Women's 5,000m: Two hours and 15 minutes after the tragic 1500m final Ayla stepped to the line of the 5k with a huge amount of motivation, and a larger number of fans. Everyone who had witnessed the 1500 fall wanted nothing more than to see her finish on the podium in the 5k. Two different "Chiiiicccoo" Chants could be heard each lap from different parts of the track. With parents of other competing Wildcats on board, as well as alumni and current athletes, there was no shortage of "Chico love" in the air during the women's 5k.

Grand Valley's talented foursome jumped to the front of the field in the early going and forced the pace through an honest 5:20 split for 1600m. Ayla sat in 17th place at 1600 in the 20 runner field, but with no breaks in the pack, her position was within a second of the first place runner. The second 1600 slowed a bit as the still nearly 20 strong pack hit 3200m in 10:48-10:49. Granados had moved up several positions, but still was well outside the Top-8 needed to be an All American.

With 1200m remaining the first serious move occurred from the front as Adams State's Lauren Martin (10k champion on Thursday) made a hard push to the front which splintered the field for the first time since the gun had sounded. Steeple champ Alicia Nelson (9:53 barrier PR) covered the surge, as did indoor NCAA mile champion Samantha Rivard of Minnesota Duluth and GVSU's top runner. Caught at mid pack when the break happened, Ayla surged to a 78 second split with three laps remaining, but ran only in 10th position. With 800m remaining Ayla moved past Alaska's Kenyan Joyce Kipchumba and into the precious 8th spot. Not wanting to leave anything on the track, Granados who now ran alone in 8th and 20-30m behind the next pack surged to a 77 penultimate split.

Hitting the bell Ayla was still in 8th place but ground was being made up on the large group ahead of her. Coming off the final turn Granados finally caught and passed two athletes (Martin, and Pittsburg St's Jessica Macy-2nd in NCAA XC this fall). Giving all she had over the final stretch Granados would hit the finish 6th in 16:37, just 2 ticks of the watch out of 2nd place and only 1.5 ahead of 8th place. This was a very tight finish! Her final lap had been covered in 71 seconds and the overall time would be a 10 second PR and the #4 All Time in Chico State History. As Ayla crossed the finish a collective sigh could be felt by the Chico faithful as the difficult scenario from the earlier 15 final was now washed away by tears of joy. The evening couldn't have ended on a better note as Granados' smile shone bright on the awards stand after the hard fought 5k final.

Thanks for reading along this season and for the support. It's been another magical ride and we owe so much to our supporters. On behalf of the men and women who represent Chico State on the tracks and trails, we thank you so much!

        

Coach Oliver Hanf says...
Isaac Chavez notched a sixth place finish in the men's 10,000-meter run to claim his second straight All-America effort in the event and third of his career. Combined with his four cross country All-Americas, Chavez now has seven as a Wildcat runner! McGuirk, who earlier in the year set a new school record in the 3K steeplechase, earned his first All-America honor, notching a fourth place finish with a time of 8:53.64. It was a very big step for the talented junior. He failed to advance to the finals last year in Pueblo. Souza capped off his illustrious Chico State career with an eighth place showing in the high jump, clearing the bar at 6-feet-08.75 for his first-ever All-America honor. The Sac City transfer is a 2-time CCAA champion and his PR of 7 '1/4" is tied for 3rd best in school history (with Ryan Bertucci).

Kasey Barnett brought home a 5th place trophy after matching her personal best long jump of 20' 1/4". Her freshman teammate Brooke Whitburn, who is also a Chico native, placed 15th with a leap of 18'7". Barnett's long jump success came on the heals of a pole vault competition that did not turn out in her favor. After finishing in 9th place in the 2013 nationals, her sites were to get onto the podium and contend for one of the top heights in the field. Instead, she had to settle with a 17th place finish with a clearance of 12'1 1/2". Now that the season is over and we can reflect back, it is fun to think about how far she has come. In high school her best long jump was 17'4 and her best auto-time in the 100 was 12.84. She did not pole vault ; that event is not offered at Chico HS. Now her PRs are 20', 11.91 and 13'1". As a frosh she scored 3 points at conference placing 8th in the LJ, TJ and PV. As a soph she scored 1 point. Now she is the school record holder in the pole vault and as a member of the 4 x 100 team. She was CCAA champion in the PV and LJ two years in a row. She scored 28.5 points at conference two years in a row and qualified for the NCAA meet both years. It was an amazing progression that really came to fruition in her final collegiate season.

Our other All-American lady was also from an athlete competing in her second event of the competition. Ayla Granados was qualified in both the 1500 and the 5K, but the 1500 was her best chance as she had the 2nd fastest time entering the competition. Both she and Olivia Watt advance to the finals from their Thurs prelims with Ayla placing 2nd in her heat. The Saturday final would be a heartbreaker for Ayla. She spent the entire first 3 laps trapped inside a pack running along the rail with no where to break loose. With just over 200m to go the pace quickened and there appeared to be a gap for her to run through but suddenly one of the runners shot in that space in front of Ayla and tripped her. She went down and the field continued on. By the time she was able to get back up she was well out of contention. She did bring home an impressive burst and finished in a time of 4:33, but it was 5 seconds behind the 8th place finisher. She was 10th. Her best time of 4:21 would have won the race!. Ayla was able to compose herself after such a traumatic turn of events and entered the 5K with a very fiery energy. She was ranked 12th coming into the race but a very focused race brought her her coveted All-American honor. She finished in 6th with a very fast time of 16:37. That 11-second PR moves her from 5th to 4th on the all-time list.



Olivia, competing in her first national meet placed 12th. Olivia, in only her 3rd year of middle distance running (she ran the 400 and 300H in HS) ends the season as the school record holder in the 800 and an NCAA participant in the 800 and 1500. She has two more years of eligibility so the future is bright for the former Morro Bay HS sprinter/hurdler.

Our women's 4 x 100 team of Amilia Santos, Ashley Jones, Aja Erskine and Kasey ended their very decorated season with a 10th place finish in a time of 47.32. With 9 teams advancing to the finals our ladies came within one place of advancing to the finals! It was an historic season for this group, winning the CCAA title for the first time and breaking a 21 year old school record. And thus the 2014 season comes to a close, although there is a chance that JP could still qualify for the 2014 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Sacramento at the end of June. Stay tuned for more info on that as we get closer to that date.

It is with mixed emotions that I say good bye to the '14 season. It was as prolific of a year as we have seen, with school records falling in the women's 4 x 100, 800, 1500 and pole vault as well as the Steeplechase and Decathlon on the guys side. The top 10 list had 41 additions (27 from the women!). The men won their 11 straight CCAA title and the women earned their 5th straight.

We had sixteen male seniors and 11 female seniors to it was hard to say good bye so many special athletes. They are now a member of our proud alumni and we plan on staying connected, just like we do with many of you. Alumni dinner next February!!! We have an exceptional recruiting class coming in next year and a very talented group of redshirts, so the 2015 season looks to be another exciting one. As always, I will close by attaching some photographs to help give a visual image of our Cats in action. Have a great summer everybody. Hope to see you in Sacramento for the USA Track nationals! Hip Hip, Hurray!! Coach O