This weekend the good majority of the Distance 'Cats took to the track at Chabot Community College while competing at the Mike Fanelli Distance Classic (formerly known as the SF Distance Carnival). Two more joined the remainder of our track 'Cats at the Stanford Invite. To be honest the weekend wasn't our most productive trip to the Bay, but a good number of solid races were run, and plenty of PR's and seasonal bests were recorded. I'll start the write up with a quick breakdown of times recorded by Chico runners at the various distances between the two meets.
List of Times run by 'Cats at each distance: Men 800m: Michael Good (Sr) 1:51.98 NCAA provisional, Seasonal Best Derek Morton (Sr) 1:53.60 First race of year after weeks of injury. Brian Hastings (Fr) 1:56.66 Doubling back from 1500m Garrett DeLong (Jr) 1:56.99 Doubling back from 1500m Rory Abberton (fr) 1:59.37 Doubling back from 1500m 1500m: Matt Herrera (So) 3:54.83 Conor Wells (Jr) 3:56.73 Brian Hastings (Fr) 3:59.43 PR-First sub-4 Garrett DeLong (Jr) 4:00.43 Cameron Tomlinson (Fr) 4:01.48 PR Rory Abberton (Fr) 4:04.83 Seasonal Best Steeplechase: Jack Johnson (Sr) 9:12.89 5,000m: Wyatt Baxter (So) 14:33.52 PR Trad Berti (Fr) 14:40.08 Seasonal Best Remington Breeze (So) 14:41.47 PR Teddy Kassa (Sr) 14:49.35 PR Luis Ortega (Jr) 14:50.11 Seasonal Best Jack Emanuel (Fr) 15:02.39 Seasonal Best Christian Woolfolk (Jr) 15:08.20 Seasonal Best 10,000m: Eddie King (Sr) 30:14.38 PR/Debut, NCAA Provisional Jason Intravaia (Sr) 30:48.93 PR/Debut Jack Hacker (Fr) 32:23 PR/Debut Mile: Teddy Kassa (Sr) 4:21 Doubled from 5k Remington Breeze (So) 4:23 Doubled from 5k Jack Emanuel (Fr) 4:30 Doubled from 5k DMR 1200m: Matt Herrera 3:08 400m: Derek Morton 50.3 800m: Conor Wells 1:55.3 1600m: Jack Johnson 4:13.9 (10:08) Meet Record Women 800m: Taylor Bailey (Fr) 2:25.31 Doubled from 1500 1500m: Taylor Bailey (Fr) 4:48.78 PR, First sub 4:50 Katie Hawley (Fr) 4:58.27 3k Steeple: Nicole Anthony (Sr) 10:32.30 PR, NCAA Q, #4 All Time CSUC Haley Boynton (So) 10:44.50 Seasonal Best, NCAA Provo Kela Leamy (Fr) 11:29.90 PR, Second steeple ever 5,000m: Alexandria Tucker (So) 17:04.49 NCAA provisional, Seasonal Best Nora Pizzella (So) 17:18.63 PR Kayden Carpenter (Jr) 17:33.24 Seasonal Best Desirae Jones (Jr) 18:06.83 Seasonal Best Sophia Lehmer-Peasley (Fr) 18:33.28 PR Nadine Dubon (Fr) 18:57.98 Seasonal Best 10,000m: Jalen Burns (Fr) 36:41.87 Debut, PR Talia Swangler (Jr) 37:43 PR Lucie Chevreuil (Jr) 37:48 PR Molly Mulay (Jr) 39:54 Debut DMR: 1200m: Nicole Anthony 3:40 400m: Elyssa Schall 60.5 800m: Katie Hawley 2:23 1600m: Alexandria Tucker 5:03 12:09 (missed Meet record by .4)
Some highlights at the various distances for the 'Cats:
Women's Steeplechase: Those close to the Chico program the past several years knew that Nicole Anthony had the talent to run a very fast steeplechase. A year ago her frosh teammate Haley Boynton ran away from her at this same invitational en route to an NCAA provisional run. This year the two ran the early laps together at mid pack, before Anthony's consistent 84 second revolutions pulled her away from her teammate and moved her up into the upper tier of the field. After a second lap clocked in 84 seconds yours truly yelled "you can run 84's all day" to Anthony and Boynton. Little did I know that she would do exactly that, running laps 2,3,4,5 and 6 in 84 seconds! The 7th revolution was clocked in 81.9 and a strong close, moved the Castro Valley HS alum into the #4 AT position on the CSUC all time list (10:32). The new PR will also most assuredly grant the senior her first trip to an NCAA championship event. Somewhat lost in the performance was the 10:44 run of Haley Boynton who looks well on her way to returning to the NCAA meet, and this time with her teammate!
Women's 1500m: RS frosh Taylor Lustyan Bayley is turning herself into quite the improvement story. The 2:31/5:28 HS runner dipped under 5:00 for the 1500 for the first time several weeks ago. On Friday Bayley took another nice step forward with an even splitted 4:48 while rolling through 800m near her HS PR for the 2 lap distance.
Women's 5k: Sophomore Nora Pizzella has enjoyed very consistent training since summer, and the result has been in the results. On Friday evening the Nevada Union HS alumna cruised through 3200m in 11:06 (just 2 seconds off her PR) and held on nicely for an 17:18 PR for the 12.5 lapper. This was a very promising result for Pizzella, who's prepping for a big 10k assault at Mt Sac in several weeks. The goal in two weeks will be to challenge the 36 minute barrier, and this coach likes her chances.
Junior Kayden Carpenter is and has been an absolute rock in the 'Cats lineup. This season a balky hamstring, that's not yet recovered from the mud covered quagmire that was 2018 NCAA XC has limited the gritty San Diego native in workouts. Despite the limitations w/ her bum leg Kayden did a great job of grinding out a 17:33 seasonal debut in the 5k. The mark was just 8 seconds off her PR, set in the late season a year ago. Carpenter is also prepping for the 10k and is certainly wired perfectly for the 25 lapper. She too will be shooting to go under the 36 minute mark, and as with Pizzella, I like her chances.
Women's 10k: Two weeks ago at the Hornet Invite, Jalen Burns recorded a so-so 18:22 5k in her 12.5 lap debut on the track. Coming off a bout of Bronchitis several weeks previous to the 5k, it was known that there was more out there. On Thursday night we found out what "more" looked like, as the RS frosh from Buena HS in Ventura rolled through the opening 5k in 18:13 and looked great doing it. After a relatively modest opening mile, Burns left the group she was running with and started a march through the field. Despite it being only her second time racing beyond the 8 lap distance Burns looked Very at home cruising through 86 and 87 second revolutions at mid race. There's no doubt that she's a natural for the longest track race. After 8k of hammering from pack to pack Jalen began to tire, and splits began to slow, but damage control was in effect and Burns would hold on for a very impressive 36:41 debut. Her first 25 lap PR is just a scant 6 seconds off the NCAA provisional standard. Next time!
It was just a year ago that Talia Swangler and Lucie Chevreuil had eclipsed the 19:00 barrier for 5k for the first time. On Thursday evening the two JC transfers ran back to back sub 19:00's while recording 37:43 and 37:48 10k PR's. The two will now step down to the 12.5 lap distance in search of sub 18:00 runs in several weeks.
Women's DMR:On Saturday the Chico women enjoyed their second straight victory in the Fanelli Classic DMR. Steepler Nicole Anthony took the 1200m leg out in 2:28 through 800m with only 1 competitor (East Bay's top runner) following closely. During the final revolution East Bay's athlete swung around Anthony and raced to a 70ish closer (Nicole ran lap 3 in 72 seconds) giving the Pioneers a 2 second lead at the first hand-off.
Senior Elyssa Schall (running her first race of the year) ran a very inspired 60.5 second lap to keep the 'Cats within 3 seconds of the East Bay squad going into the 800m leg. True frosh Katie Hawley recorded a 2:23 leg in the 800m, and the 'Cats Alexandria Tucker started the 1600 leg with a 4-5 second deficit.
After a lap of chasing East Bay's anchor, Tucker looked well, but hadn't made up any of the meters that separated her from the lead. Lap two would bring some nice progress though, and before the kilometer mark Tucker would catch and pass the tiring East Bay athlete. Just as she had a year before Tucker spent the final 500m tightening the screws and insuring the eventual victory. A 5:03 finishing split gave the 'Cats a 12:09 final time, some 7 seconds ahead of East Bay, but just .4 seconds off the meet record. Next year!
Men's 800m: Senior 800m specialist Michael Good recorded a 1:51.98 seasonal best at the Stanford Invitational, taking a step forward from his 1:53 seasonal debut in Sacramento several weeks prior.
Derek Morton (1:48.90 PR) came into the season in wonderful shape, and ready to challenge the 4 minute mile barrier, as well as the 800m school record. Unfortunately the senior from San Diego developed a knee issue that took him out of running for a three week span between late February and early March. After a week of modest aerobic running Morton resumed light workouts, and on Saturday took to the track with only 2-3 weeks of consistent workouts behind him.
Thankfully Derek's heat went out at a modest intensity (57 seconds) and Morton looked well within himself as he measured the pace and his body through an increasingly paced third 200m. At 600m the front of the pack was bunched and Humboldt's 1:48 school record holder (Braden Leach) held the lead. Approaching the final straight Morton made his move around the small pack and had drawn even with Leach with 100m remaining. A nice winter base seemed to kick into gear the final 100m as Morton sprinted down the final straight, winning his heat by nearly a full second in a negative splitted 1:53.
True frosh and local LP HS product Brian Hastings doubled back from Friday's 1500 with a 1:56.66 near-pr for the two lapper.
Men's 1500m: Sophomore Matthew Herrera is slowly solidifying himself as a solid force at the 1500m distance. On Friday Herrera notched a near PR 3:54 while closing quite well over the final 400m.
True frosh Brian Hastings dipped under the 4:00 barrier for the first time in his young career with a 3:59 run.
Men's 5,000m: Heat 3-Fanelli: Teddy Kassa, Remington Breeze and red shirt Raymond Lopez went into Saturday's 5k hoping to dip under 14:30 in the 12.5 lapper. Unfortunately a DI assistant coach (with athletes in the race) took the front of the pack out at 14:00 pace through the opening 1600m. With the entire field following the leader for the initial laps, Kassa was drug through 1600 in 4:32, Breeze-4:35 and Lopez-4:35. The aggressive early pace was too much for the Chico trio. Breeze would hold on the best recording a 14:41 PR, with Kassa following with a painful 14:49. Lopez would "jog" the final mile eventually finishing well above 15:00. Not the hoped start to our 5k running for the guys.
Heat 4: What a difference the early pace can make when pursuing a 5k PR. Heat 4's early paces hovered between 69-71 seconds per lap, and Chico's Trad Berti, Wyatt Baxter, and Luis Ortega looked engaged and ready for PR's. The Chico trio ended up in a large chase group (there were 2-3 that escaped early in the run) and Trad Berti did a fair amount of leading in the second and third miles. Wyatt Baxter closed the best from the Chico trio recording a 14:33 PR. Berti seemed to spend his kick in his leading, as a modest 68-69 closer left him with a near PR of 14:40.08. Ortega faded over the final kilometer but held on for a 14:50 seasonal best mark. RS frosh Jack Emanuel missed a fair amount of winter training dealing with multiple bouts of sickness. On Friday he would record a near-PR of 15:02 for the 5k.
Men's 10k: It's not often that we have two fifth year seniors making 10k debut's on the track, but that was indeed the case on Thursday for the 'Cats. An illustration into just how far the Fanelli Invite has come, is that the lead pack in the SECOND heat of the 10k went through 3200m at 29:30 pace.. and that was at least 15 athletes strong. King spent the early laps in 4th or 5th position, but repeated 70 second revolutions finally took their toll and he began to fall back in the pack before 5k was reached. King would hit 5k in 14:50, but his momentum was not positive and the second half would surely be a tough one given the hot early pace and the recent splits. Also running quite aggressively was Jason Intravaia who crossed the half way point in 14:52.
The second half was a story of pain tolerance for the Chico pair as King battled stomach issues that would cause for splits of 75 and 76 to follow with a string of 72's and 73's.
Although it wasn't pretty King managed to find the line in 30:14 which is an NCAA provisional mark and CCAA leader, but shy of what he'll need to get into the National meet. Thankfully the 5k All American will have two cracks at his favored distance in the coming 6 weeks as he searches for a return ticket to NCAA's. Intravaia held on for a 30:48 finish and now looks forward to some 1500 and 5k attempts in the coming weeks.
True frosh Jack Hacker would make a nice 25 lap debut recording back to back 16:11 splits per 5k, en route to a 32:23 finish time. Jack's familiarity with multiple laps on the oval may have been due to his running our spring break 10 mile tempo on his local HS track! I suppose if you can handle 40 laps at tempo pace on the track, 25 is a piece of cake.
Men's DMR:c
Chico's Matt Herrera (filling in for an ailing Trad Berti) did a masterful job of 1200m running, not biting on the 29 second opening 200m from a club team, but leading the chase a few strides behind. By 600m Herrera had the lead, and as planned, worked to keep the pace honest at the front. His 3:08 final split gave the 'Cats an advantage that they would not relinquish, while keeping them in the realm of a potential meet record.
Derek Morton (running his second race of the season) looked very powerful with a 50.3 second circuit of the track, adding to the 'Cats lead heading into the 800m leg.
Conor Wells did a solid job of measuring himself while keeping the pace honest, while notching a 1:55 800m split.
Jack Johnson has closed out all 3 Fanelli Inv. DMR wins for Chico, and the senior took the hand-off Saturday with a nice 7ish second cushion over Humboldt's 3:52 (1500) guy Daniel Tull. The Humboldt standout ran a very inspired (perhaps Overly inspired in hindsight) initial lap, and by 500m trailed Johnson by just 2 seconds. Between 600m and 800m Tull's form changed and Johnson quickly began to tack seconds back onto his lead over the Lumberjacks. With 400m remaining the announcer stated that Johnson needed a 63 second final lap for the 'Cats to break their own meet record. Johnson looked very smooth running a 62ish final revolution en-route to the win And meet record (10:08).
Concluding Thoughts:
Overall it was another successful weekend in the Bay. Not all hit marks that we'd hoped for, but confidence is growing as we near the second half of the season. Next up for the 'Cats is the Chico Twilight Invite. This year the meet is a 1 day affair (save a few field events) so if you're in the neighborhood, come check out the meet this Saturday. I'll attach a schedule of events for those interested. As usual we'll load up the 15's mostly with our distance crew.
