Cool, sporadically wet and breezy conditions fail to deter at Wildcat Invitational
Johnson's 1500m, women's 5k highlight distance corp performances

Saturday, March 9, 2019
Comments & photos by Gary Towne/Chico State Distance Coach

The Chico State men's and women's distance squads began their 2019 season on Saturday March the 9th at our own Wildcat Invitational. Conditions were far from ideal with temperatures never reaching 50 degrees, coupled with on and off rain showers and a consistent wind from the south. This year's Wildcat Invite was definitely not one for PR's, but would at least offer a much needed break from the constant strain of base building training. As is usually the case at our early invitational the 'Cats would load up the 1500's and 800's with mid distance and distance runners, while bringing back a good number for 5k workouts late in the afternoon. Also this year we had two debuting steeplers taking their first crack at the barrier event. I'll quickly recap each run below.

Women's Steeple: We could have asked for better conditions for true frosh Kela Leamy's steeple debut, but Mother Nature was not to be denied adding a steady rain, some difficult backstretch winds, and a blustery wind chill, to the challenge that is 35 barrier jumps and 3k of running. Thankfully Kela is a native of Corvallis, Oregon, so perhaps that helped her produce a solid debut. From the start Monterey Bay's top distance gal Brooke Roy (also running her first steeple) hammered a first lap in the low 80 range. Gaging herself well Kela settled into third place in the early going, but quickly passed an overzealous starter from Monterey. Roy would tack on several seconds per lap in the early going before her lack of hurdle ability and water jumping began to catch up with her a bit. Leamy struggled with some elements of the race as well, and two loose shoelaces didn't help... A 92 second closing lap brought Kela home in second place with an 11:56 final time. Roy would take the win in 11:34. One down, and plenty more to go for these two freshmen.

Men's Steeple It's never too late to try the steeplechase.. which is why RS Junior Zachary Chamberlain gave the barrier race a go after a few weeks of successful hurdle and water jump practice. After a few laps of trailing a fast starting DVC athlete Chamberlain took the lead and pressed into the windy back stretch. After 1600m of leading and creating a target for those behind, Zach was reeled in and passed by Ahmed Omer an unattached athlete. The two tired athletes fought the elements and each other to the line with Omer finding the finish first in 10:01 to Chamberlain's 10:03.

Women's 1500m: Chico's Alex Tucker volunteered to tow the front of the women's 1500 through a hoped 1200m before allowing the race to unfold to the finish. Mother nature had other ideas as Tucker managed a relatively modest 2:35 800m before stepping off the track at the 900m mark. As Tucker had stepped off the track only Nicole Anthony and Nora Pizzella ran close, with the remainder of the field scattered behind. Anthony, who's looked good in early season workouts held on the best and would claim her first of 2 wins on the day with a 4:50 PR. Teammate Nora Pizzella would follow closely with a hard earned 4:52 mark. Kayden Carpenter would place 3rd in the "fast" heat with her 5:01 finish time. I mention "fast" heat because in Heat 2, Chico red shirting frosh Esmeralda Aguayo Ruiz would take the pace out in 75 seconds. With no one to run with, Aguayo Ruiz pressed hard into the challenging head wind and managed to solo 1,450m of the 1500m race, before a Southern Oregon athlete overtook her just before the line. The pair eclipsed the 5:00 mark while recording the 3rd and 4th fastest times of the day. Fellow RS frosh Carrie McDonough also finished with a solid result finishing well in a 5:01 PR.

Men's 1500m: RS Frosh Trad Berti had hoped to pace the men's 1500 field through 1200m at an even 62 second pace per lap. Just as she had during the women's 1500, Mother Nature would limit the pace of the rabbit, as Berti managed just 63 and 64 second laps before dropping out at 900m. 5k All American Eddie King seized the lead for the next circuit before beginning to tie up. Humboldt State's CCAA Runner-up Daniel Tull would now take the lead hoping to upset the plethora of Wildcats that surrounded him for much of the race. The only 'Cat who was able to cover the move of Tull was Chico steeplechase All American Jack Johnson who looked controlled trailing the Humboldt standout. With 50 meters remaining Johnson made his bid for the win and closed well enough to get the job done. Johnson's final 300m was covered in an impressive 44 seconds while he narrowly missed his PR with a 3:55 winning mark. Tull would finish next, just a second back, while Chico runners Conor Wells and Eddie King would also just dip under the 4 minute threshold.

Women's 800m: Senior Nicole Anthony stepped down in distance on Saturday and collected two wins between the 1500 and a 2:25 800m run. True frosh Katie Hawley bounced back after a disappointing 1500 with a 2:26 second place 800m finish.

Men's 800m: Conor Wells an American River College transfer bounced back from a third place 1500 finish to win the 800m in 1:57.1. Teammate Eddie King would PR in the two lapper after his 1500 earlier while stopping the clock in 1:58. Red shirting true frosh Brian Hastings would finish 5th while just dipping under 2:00 as well.

Women's 5,000m: The good majority of the Chico women contesting the 5k had run the 1500 earlier, and were running the longer race more as a hard workout effort. Alex Tucker and Nora Pizzella handled much of the early pacing duties with teammates Kayden Carpenter and Haley Boynton also en-tow. After an initial 3200m at 5:55 pace, the quartet dropped the pace a touch with each lap during the final mile, eventually running between 18:13-18:15. Butte College transfer Talia Swangler, also doubling back from the 1500m, PR'ed in 18:33 and placing fifth.

Men's 5,000m: The 'Cats men were also bouncing back from the earlier 1500, and a few 800's as well before taking on the 12.5 lapper as a workout. A solid group of 'Cats ran the initial 3200m just under a 5:00 clip per 1600, before they began to cut the pace down. Senior XC All American closed the the best on this day collecting the win in 15:17. The 'Cats (counting red shirts) would take the top 8 places.

Next Up: The Hornet Invite @ Sac State on March 16th.