The Chico State Wildcat distance crew enjoyed another successful Southern California swing this weekend (competing at Mt Sac, Azusa, and Beach Invites), notching a school record, a conference record, several major All Time CSUC list adjustments, and plenty of NCAA provisional marks. Junior Alex Burkhart highlighted the 'Cats efforts with her third school record of the season in the women's 3k steeple event. Her most recent improvement made her the fastest steepler ever in the CCAA and narrowly missed the DII All-Time top-10 list.
As I did for the SF/Stanford weekend, I'll start by listing some of the marks posted by the Chico athletes at the various distances.
List of Times run by 'Cats at each distance: Women's Steeple: Alex Burkhart (Jr) 10:14.55 CCAA record, CSUC School Record, NCAA Auto McCall Habermehl (Sr): 10:34.29 Seasonal Best, NCAA provisional Men's Steeple: Jack Johnson (So) 9:05.86 PR, 2nd steeple Ever!, NCAA provisional, #11 AT, CSUC Women's 10,000m: Hannah Dorman (Jr) 34:46.56 #2 A.T. CSUC, Debut, NCAA Provisional Sadie Gastelum (Sr) 34:46.80 #3 A.T. CSUC, NCAA Provisional Men's 10,00m: Will Reyes (Sr) 29:17.01 NCAA Provisional, Battled Side-stitch final 3k Women's 5,000m: Nora Pizzella (fr) 17:39.10, PR Jenny Giguere (fr) 17:40.41, PR Kayden Carpenter (fr) 17:44.70, PR Men's 5,000m: Eddie King (So) 14:44.54, PR Andrew Cobourn (Sr) 14:53.59, PR Arturo Arevalo (So) 15:08.14, Seasonal Best Caton Avilla (Jr) 15:10.00, PR Women's 1500m: Yajaira Zarate (So) 4:40.14, PR Men's 1500m: Kyle Medina (Jr) 3:46.52, Seasonal Best (57.3 final lap) Garrett DeLong (fr) 3:53.65, PR Nick Grubiss (Sr) 3:57.81, Seasonal Best Cameron Ashbaugh (So) 3:58.40 Women's 800m: Brittany Ansalmo (Jr) 2:16.54, Seasonal Best Elyssa Schall (So) 2:19.65 Men's 800m: Michael Good (So) 1:52.27, Seasonal Best, NCAA provisional Michael Good (So) 1:53.44 Sat @ Beach Inv. (Post Fri-800/4 X 4 double) Garrett DeLong (fr) 1:55-Sat @ Beach Inv. (Post 3:53-1500 PR)
Women's 10,000m:
Women's Elite 10k Section C:
After the heat assignments came out for the Mt Sac Invite there was only 1 Chico entrant that I felt was placed in the "incorrect" heat. That was Sadie Gastelum. The past two track seasons have brought injuries that hampered Sadie's ability to run up to her abilities, and now she was saddled with the seed time that placed her into the slowest of 4 heats in the 10k. Teammate Hannah Dorman had been placed in the next fastest heat by virtue of her recent 16:55 5k PR. It was my goal to have Sadie placed into Hannah's heat, knowing the two were in similar fitness.
The goal of having Sadie placed into her teammate's heat was never achieved, as meet management became confused and placed the senior into the second fastest heat, in effect leapfrogging Dorman's race. Not wanting to argue with the meet director about the placement I hoped that Sadie would be prepared to handle the quicker heat, especially given her preference to build into races pace-wise.
Since races went Slow to Fast, Hannah would be the first to try her hand at the 25 lapper. Given that it was Hannah's maiden voyage beyond 12.5 laps, yours truly took a deep breath before, hoping the junior from Redding would be ready prepared for the 25 lap distance. The goal would be to find a good group near the front that would provide the most company for the majority of the race.
From the gun Dorman ran her first 10k like a seasoned veteran. With an outside goal of running sub 35:00 (which would guarantee a spot to NCAA's) Dorman locked into a pace that hovered around her target tempo (5:36-1600 pace).
Dorman ran among a large lead group through mile splits of 5:38, 5:35, 5:37 crossing 5k in 17:31. As the race pressed into the second half, the once large lead pack began to disintegrate into smaller sub-groups. Hannah remained active and alert during the fourth and fifth miles (covered in 5:34/5:37). By 8k (28:01) Dorman finally beginning to show effects of the pace, but still ran in 4th overall, as several DI athletes had split off the front of the group.
Now close enough to home and looking reasonably strong, there was little worry that Dorman wouldn't finish around 35:00 so the focus shifted to the possibility of finishing in the top 2-3. With 800m remaining Dorman ran in third place behind Wyoming and Marquette's top 10k runners, who had 3-4 seconds on the Chico athlete.
Dorman, crossing the finish line the penultimate time, rode the adrenelin rush after passing by the Chico cheering section to quickly make up the gap that separated herself and the two DI athletes ahead. Hitting the final straight there was no question who would win the race as Dorman found yet another gear and hit the tape in 34 minutes and 46 seconds. After recording a 17:30 first 5k, Dorman would knock out an awesome 17:15 final 5k. Her final revolution was covered in a speedy 74 seconds, and her final time would make her the second fastest 10k runner in Chico State history.
Women's Elite 10k Section B:
Before Dorman could even start her cool down, teammate Sadie Gastelum would start her 25 lap journey. With a similar goal of breaking 35 minutes Gastelum set out hoping to average 84.0 second laps. After an initial lap of 87 seconds, the pack predictably lowered the tempo to 86, then an 81 and an 83. Knowing the pack at the front might create a tempo that may be a bit too quick Sadie settled at the back of the 25+ runner field, waiting to see how the pace would evolve.
A 5:31 second mile found the Chico senior in last position and hanging on for dear life. Thankfully the third mile brought some easing of the pace of the pack, and one by one Gastelum would make her way forward in the pack. A 5:34 third mile brought the Gardnerville, NV native through 5k in a swift 17:25. The fourth 1600m of the run was covered in 5:31 and now yours truly wondered if Alia Gray's school record (34:31) might be in jeopardy.
8k was reached in 27:48, and the quicker than planned laps in the first half appeared to be catching up with Gastelum. With a solid base of mileage behind her and a tough as nails mentality there was never a question that Sadie would hold on well. A 5:38 sixth mile put the senior at the metric 6 mile mark at 33:26. The school record was out of play, but a 79 second final lap would in essence match her teammate Dorman who had just punched her ticket to NCAA's. Seventy-nine seconds later Gastelum would hit the tape, matching Dorman's 36:46 mark, and finishing less than .3 seconds off Hannah's shiny PR. Sadie's effort gave her a 75+ second PR, a 10th place finish, and insured her inclusion into her first NCAA track championships. It also made Gastelum the third fastest 10k runner in the history of the program behind only Alia Gray and Dorman.
Women's Steeplechase:
The past two CCAA steeple titles have gone to Chico's Alex Burkhart and McCall Habermehl. Both were placed into the Elite section of the Mt Sac Invite and each eyed PR's as their goals for the evening. For Burkhart a PR would mean a school record, and a 6 second PR would move her into the All Time Top-10 for DII steeplechase. The tough thing about the DII all time steeple list is that it's a moving target as 5 of the NCAA's fastest steeplers all time are currently racing and the list very much a fluid piece of work.
Predictably the pace was relatively quick from the start as the 13 person field hit 400m in 80 seconds (10:00 pace). Burkhart settled at mid pack, while Habermehl (who missed a lot of fall/winter training with ITBS issues) ran at the tail end of the group. A second lap split of 81 seconds saw Burkhart looking great and even a bit antsy as she moved toward the lead by the kilometer mark. A third lap of 80 saw Burkhart take the lead, while teammate Habermehl allowed some separation from the main group to occur. Burkhart's 82 second fourth lap saw her split a 5:24 through a short 1600m (10:0's pace). The lap leading to 2k saw some slowing with an 84 second revolution being logged, and with two laps to go Alex needed a 2:45 800m split to run a 10:15 (PR was 10:21 going into the race).
Sensing that a PR was in the works Burkhart battled to stay among the top group during the penultimate lap. At the bell Burkhart ran in 4th position in a tightly bunched pack running side by side with 2016 DII All American Collett Rampf (a German standout from St Leo U). With a fast last lap in the making Burkhart ran on the heels of Rampf as the pair approached the last barrier of the race. Taking on the last barrier at a full sprint in trying to beat the St Leo competitor Alex's trail-leg toe dipped and hooked the immovable oversized hurdle. With plenty of forward momentum Alex fell forward to the track, slamming her knee into the surface and rolling backward toward the finish. Making a relatively quick recovery Alex' race with Rampf was over, but a PR was still in the cards. A fast sprint to the line just missed holding off Ol Miss' Shelby Brown, but did stop the clock at 10:14.55.
Teammate McCall Habermehl who had run alone in last position much of the final 2k fought hard and kept her composure and managed a 10:34 seasonal best. The time improvement helps her chances of getting into what will be the best women's NCAA Championship steeplechase ever at the DII level.
*Quick Breakdown of Burkhart's latest PR/School Record: Going into the weekend Alex' eventual PR would have ranked her among the All Time Top-10 in DII steeple history. Amazingly enough though no less than 4 DII women ran Faster than Burkhart just this weekend alone, and none had been on the list previously themselves. Alex breaks onto a list and before it's published, is pushed off just as quickly. Rampf, who Burkhart ran behind with 100m remaining now ranks #8 AT with her eventual 10:11 run. It's impossible to say how much time the fall added to Alex' mark but 10:12 seems like a conservative estimate of what she might have run minus the mishap. Either way, her inclusion onto the All Time DII list will have to wait, and thankfully she's only a Junior! On a brighter note Alex did pass Stanislaus' NCAA champ Courtney Anderson as the fastest CCAA steepler ever.
Men's 1500m:
Junior Kyle Medina would make his seasonal debut over the 1500 distance in the Mt Sac Invite. Placed in the Elite heat Medina hoped to be pulled to a quick early season time by a field that included Olympian David Torrance. Unfortunately things slowed after a 60 second initial 400m split and the next 800m was covered in 2:03. Not in a great position going into the final lap Medina closed in 57.3 but list ground to the leaders ahead. Torrance would win the race in 3:44 while Medina would run to a 3:46 seasonal debut. He will return to the 1500 this weekend at Stanford's Cardinal Invite.
Azusa Pacific Bryan Clay 1500's:
RS Frosh Garrett DeLong is a quiet and unassuming young man in his day to day life. Put him in a uniform, and things change drastically. On Friday DeLong lowered his 1500 PB by 3 seconds while placing 4th in a heat of 23 athletes at the Bryan Clay invite (3:53 final time).
Senior Nick Grubiss has endured a Lot of setbacks since his sophomore year (which produced 3:52/14:10 PR's). Despite dealing with issues that no doctors can properly diagnose Grubiss has refused to quit and on Friday he ran his first sub 4 1500m in several years while producing a 3:57 seasonal best.
Sophomore Cameron Ashbaugh effectively tied his 3:58 PR while chasing a bigger mark (2:05-800m split) at Azusa on Friday.
Yajaira Zarate had hoped to dip under the 4:40 barrier on Friday as the sophomore entered the weekend with a 4:41 PR. She would Barely miss this goal with a 4:40.1 PR.
Women's 5,000m:
The Chico women were three for three in the PR department for our 5k runners. True frosh Nora Pizzella would lead the way with her 17:39 effort. RS Frosh Jennifer Giguere and Kayden Carpenter would also lower their PB's with 17:40 and 17:44 efforts of their own. The 'Cats now have 12 women on the roster who have at least eclipsed the 18:00 mark for the 12.5 lap distance.
Men's 5,000m:
Sophomore Eddie King would take a nice chunk off his previous 5k PR with a 14:44 run at Azusa. Teammate Andrew Cobourn would officially join the sub 15 club for the first time with a nice 14:53 effort. Arturo Arevalo who missed much of February's running with an ankle issue returned to racing with a respectable 15:08 seasonal best for 5k and Caton Avilla would follow with a 15:10 PR of his own.
Men's 800m:
Sophomore Michael Good took a nice step forward after struggling through a bout of Mononucleosis this winter as he recorded a 1:52 NCAA provisional mark for the 800 at Azusa. He would follow with a 49.5 relay carry later in the day.
Women's 800m:
Brittany Ansalmo would run a 2:16 seasonal best at Azusa while frosh teammate Elyssa Schall was a victim of a fast start and struggled a bit with a 2:19 final time.
Next up for the 'Cats:
Kyle Medina heads to Stanford this weekend for a 1500 at the Cardinal Invite.
Two weeks later we HOST the CCAA Championships on Friday/Saturday May 5/6.
We hope to see many of you here in May!
