(Note: This Update is a week old so I'm sorry it wasn't sent out last week. I had written it and had it ready to go, but kept forgetting to format it and send it out during a week filled with post season individual meetings. I figured it would still be worth sharing, given the positive results that were achieved. Thanks for your understanding)

On Saturday a collection of 'Cats headed down to the SF State track facility to take a final shot at fast racing. For some it was their final opportunity to chase an NCAA mark, and for others it was just a chance to post a PR or a seasonal best. The meet proved to be quite productive for the Chico group, despite coming a short week after the emotional CCAA championship event.

Here's a short rundown on Saturday's action. 

 
 Men's 800m: 
 
Michael Good: 1:52.23 (second best time ever)
 
Women's 800m: 
 
Olivia Watt: 2:09.20 (ties her PR, NCAA provisional, Seasonal Best) 
 
Men's 1500m: 

Connor Fisher:  3:52.16 (PR, misses NCAA provisional mark by less than a second)
Garrett DeLong(Fr): 3:56.42 (Red Shirting True Frosh): PR, First sub 4! 
Derek Morton (Fr): 4:04
 
Women's 1500m: 

Lora James (Sr):  4:39 
 
Men's Steeplechase: 

Brandon Taylor (Sr): 9:15.32 (Seaonal Best, NCAA Provisional)
Chris Kigar (Jr): 9:31 (Seasonal Best) 
 
Women's Steeple: 
 
Alex Burkhart (So):  10:33.28 (Seasonal Best, NCAA provisional) 
 
Men's 5,000m: 

Steven Velarde (Fr)    14:42.62 
Anuare Magana (Fr) (Red Shirting True Frosh): 14:43 PR, first sub 15! 
Connor Fisher (So) (doubled after 1500 earlier): 14:51
Eddie King (Fr): 14:53, First sub 15, RS Frosh. 
Arturo Arevalo (Fr): 15:12
Jack Johnson (Fr): 15:18
Zachary Chamberlain (Fr): 15:27
 
Women's 5,000m:

McCall Habermehl (Jr): 17:15- PR, NCAA Provisional 
Sadie Gastelum (Jr): 17:18-  PR, NCAA Provisional 
Kayden Carpenter (Red Shirting True Frosh): 18:00
Hannah Dorman (So): 18:06 - Seasonal Best 
Yajaira Zarate (Fr): 18:12
Jenny Guigere (Red Shirting True Frosh) 19:01
 
Men's 10,000m: 

Steven Martinez (Jr)  29:44.24
Aaron Mora (Jr): 29:57.60

Men's 10,000m: When it became apparent several weeks ago that 29:59 and 30:00 (posted by Aaron Mora and Steven Martinez) wouldn't make the NCAA dance, Will Reyes wanted to help his teammates take another shot at the distance at the last chance meet. Given that there would be no field for them to work with, the odds weren't great for a successful outcome, but it was worth taking the chance. Reyes did a masterful job of pacing his teammates through splits of: 4:45, 9:32, 14:18, and 19:03 (metric 4mi). Will would run a 17th lap, to get the pair to the 3200m to go point, and then it was up to Martinez and Mora to carry the momentum. Mora would take the 18th lap (72.6) before Martinez would take the front for good. By 8k (23:49) Martinez had put a few strides on the tiring Mora (who had run a 10k/5k double at CCAA's the week before). Martinez would run a 4:46 for the sixth 1600m of the race, and a 67.6 closer would carry him to a 29:44 PR and NCAA mark. Mora would hold on nicely, given that he'd just finished 25k of racing in the past week, finishing with a 29:57 seasonal best. In a "normal" year, both marks would send each athlete off to the NCAA Championships, but this year Martinez" mark ranks him #20 in DII, and now we await the NCAA"s selection process with fingers crossed.

Women's Steeplechase: Sophomore Alex Burkhart has proven herself to be a clutch performer, and on Saturday she would use this quality to post a much needed 10:33 seasonal best for the steeplechase. Her 10:40 seasonal best sat at 19th on the NCAA list going into the final weekend of qualifying, but a few from across the country would most likely shake this list up. Burkhart took to the line determined to get herself back to the NCAA championships and a well-executed race did exactly that. She now ranks #14 going into the championships.

Women's 800m: Olivia Watt ran a 2:09.20 a year ago at the last chance meet in Sacramento, but hadn't yet eclipsed the 2:10 barrier again this season. On Saturday Watt blew through the 400m in a swift 61.7 seconds and held on nicely for a 3rd place finish. Her finish time tied her PR Exactly to the 100th of a second! The 1500m specialist needed this bit of momentum after a bit of a rough CCAA weekend, and before heading into the NCAA Championships next week.

Men's 1500m: Sophomore Connor Fisher was placed in the second heat, which was a disappointing development for the Chico crew, as this was our third year in a row of having the top-seed in the second heat of the last chance meet. Just as former 'Cat Germay Tesfai had a year ago while running to a 3:49 PR in the second heat, Connor made the most of his opportunity. Teammate Kyle Medina struggled a bit with the pacing duties in this heat taking Fisher through splits of 60/63/63, but Connor finished strong and pulled away from the field racing to a 3:52.2 PR. True frosh Garrett DeLong joined the Sub-4 club for the first time with his 3:56.4 while narrowly missing the win in Heat 3.

Men's 800m: RS Frosh Michael Good wanted to do two things in Saturday's 800m in SF. First he wanted to beat his 1:51.6 PR set at the Bryan Clay Invite. Second, he wanted to beat the Stanislaus runners who had swept the CCAA meet the week before. 3 of the 4 who finished in front of him at CCAA's would be in his heat on Saturday. Good rolled through 400m in a swift 52.6 seconds, but looked quite well, and positioned in the field. In the final 200m of the race 1:46 guy Richard Jones was maintaining his pace much better than the rest of the field. Good sorted through each of the dying Stanislaus runners who had started ahead of him, and with 100m to go he moved into second place for good. Although his finish time (1:52.23) wasn't a PR, it was his second best time of the year, and gives the youngster a positive finish to his first season in uniform.

Men's Steeplechase: Senior Brandon Taylor went out Saturday with a giant chip on his shoulder. After a season of ups and downs, including a few medical scares and missed training, Taylor took aim at running as close to 9 minutes as he could. Only able to squeak out a 9:23 at CCAA's last week, it would take a huge step to run a 9:05, but he was determined to go down swinging if needed. Battling with All CCAA runner Dustyn Salomon from Humboldt, Brandon looked great, sailing through an initial 1600m split of 4:50. The second half of the race would see some slowing as the reality of the missed training was now seeping into his hurdling and ability to carry the swift pace. Brandon fought extremely hard and finished 2nd overall with a large Seasonal best 9:15. This was an NCAA provisional mark, but will miss making the NCAA field by about 12 seconds.

Women's 5,000m:
McCall Habermehl and Sadie Gastelum worked together throughout the 12.5 lapper in an effort to run in the 17 teens. With a large group that started at 80 second pace ahead of them, much of the work to keep their own pack going was done by Habermehl. A 76 second closing revolution by McCall carried her to her first sub 18:00 clocking (17:15 final time) with Gastelum finishing just 3 seconds behind in a PR as well. Sadie's PR comes a week after a CCAA 10k/5k double, and at the end of a season that was hampered by a 5 week forced break from running due to a rolled ankle. True Frosh Kayden Carpenter fought hard to post a seasonal best 18:00 5k as well.

Men's 5,000m: Highlights of the men's 5k were a pair of first time Sub-15 minute runs by a couple of our young developing runners. True frosh Anuare Magana would run to a 14:43 PR, looking quite strong throughout. Teammate Eddie King (RS Frosh) who missed the entire fall period due to a medical issue, raced to a 14:53 PR. Connor Fisher who'd run a 3:52 1500m PR earlier in the day bounced back to post a 14:51 in the 5k as well.

Up Next: A total of 8 Distance 'Cats will join 10 others from the team, to represent Chico State at this year's NCAA Championships to be held in Bradenton, Florida. Competition starts this Thursday evening. For links to results and updates, please visit our athletics website: http://www.chicowildcats.com/