In the "better late than never" department, I felt like I needed to send out this write-up on our recent trip to Azusa for our Last Chance meet. The Franson APU Last Chance was held the week following our trip to San Diego for CCAA's, and the week before finals began, so we had a spartan crew representing the 'Cats on the final week of NCAA competition (prior to the Championships themselves).

The biggest highlights of the weekend were on the women's side, as Junior Marissa D'Atri took down Katie Lee-Layman's 18 year old school record in the 5k (new standard is 16:14!). RS frosh Hannah Tiffany also dropped a massive 5k PB with her 16:33 run, while teammate Katie Hawley narrowly missed becoming the 'Cats 8th woman to break the 4:30 barrier in the 1500 (4:30 finish time).

Please follow along below for some race descriptions and pictures.

Friday Highlights:

Women's 5k:Marissa D'Atri ran her first 5k of the season in SF, leading much of the race, and notching her first sub 17 with her 16:30 final result. Of course this left her 5 seconds shy of the school record, and as the weeks rolled by, on the bubble of the NCAA's yearly Top-20 list. Teammate Hannah Tiffany ran a massive 16:55 PB at the Bryan Clay invite, but had no chance of making the NCAA field w/ that time. After her recent 34:50's 10k she felt ready to attack a bigger mark.

The fast heat of the women's 5k was honest from the gun, as a pacer pulled the front group through 1600 in a swift 5:09 split. Wanting a fast pace, D'Atri was happily en-tow and looking controlled in doing so. Not wanting to let the lead group get away Hannah Tiffany latched on, rolling through 1600 in 5:10 (Note: Hannah's 1600 pb leading into this season was 5:37, dating back to HS running). As the pacer dropped from the race at 2k, Mexico's Maria Aramburo seized the lead and dropped a 76 second sixth-lap. The injection of pace left Aramburo alone with D'Atri at the front, while Hannah battled with Western State's top entrant several seconds back in a small chase group.

3200 splits for Marissa and Hannah were 10:24 and 10:29, as both were under school record tempo with 4 laps remaining. It should be noted that Hannah's 3200m PB at the season's start was 11:50!

Aramburo was just too strong over the final 4 laps, and D'Atri ran solo for the final stretch. Thankfully fitness and toughness would prevail as D'Atri kept the laps under 80, and a 71.2 closer secured a massive 16:14 PR and School Record. Hannah Tiffany struggled a bit over the final mile, after the massive 3200 PR, but still managed to drop her PR by over 20 seconds (16:33).

As mentioned previously Marissa's new PB eclipses the 'Cats oldest distance record, an epic run by Katie Lee, that at the moment was the American yearly leader (She won her heat at the Stanford Invite). Katie quickly reached out to Marissa to congratulate the fellow East Bay native. Hannah Tiffany's effort makes her the 6th fastest 'Cat all-time. (note: you now have to run 16:40 just to make the 'Cats new and improved 5k list!). The new PB was just fast enough to gain her entry into the NCAA 5k field (along with Marissa of course).

Men's 5k: The 'Cats sent several men to the line in the 5k. Senior Jack Emanuel had run an early season 14:09 (that now sat outside the NCAA's entry threshold) and had been gearing up for this opportunity for 4-5 weeks. Sophomore Joshua O'Neill began the 5k with a 14:34 PB and hoped to drop into the 14:20 range (but was only 1 week removed from a 10/5 double at CCAA's). Dylan White and Jayden Olea would also set out for PB's in 12.5 lapper.

Having twice run between 14:08 and 14:09 Emanuel needed to shave 5 seconds from his PB to nail down a trip to NCAA's. He would run a masterful race for the initial 3200m splitting his first sub 9, 3200m (8:59.1 split). Jack would record a series of 68 second laps over the final stages of the race, and hit the bell in 13:00. A 63-64 final revolution would secure a PB and NCAA qualifier, but unfortunately there was no kick in the legs, and the Chico native would hit the line in a fast, but disappointing 14:09. Oh so close!

Josh O'Neill took a nice swing at a big PR in his heat of the 5k as well, running through early splits of 4:34 (1600) and 9:11 (3200). The final mile brought some slowing (predictably, considering his CCAA winning 10k and podium 5k effort last week). Thankfully Josh rallied with a 63 second final lap to save a nice 10k second PB (14:24!)

RS Frosh Jayden Olea was well on his way to a massive 5k PB as he sailed through 3200m in 9:24 (5k PB is 14:56). Unfortunately the Fresno native hit an invisible wall over the final 1k, sliding back to a 14:58 finish time. There's no doubt he'll lower that mark substantially next season.

Dylan White ran a miracle 10k last week coming off sickness, and then rallied to pace his teammate Jack Emanuel through 3200 of the CCAA 5k final. Those efforts apparently taxed his system drastically as he never appeared in control of his running during his 15:0's effort in Azusa.

Men's 800m: The men's 800's didn't bring any PB's for the 'Cats, but Walker Doucette would record a seasonal best 1:53.4. RS Frosh teammate Lionel Inhphom would race to his second straight 1:56, while narrowly missing his PB. Sophomore Patrick Roehling (1:54 PR) hit an absolute wall over the final lap of the race landing him north of the 2 minute threshold. He would bounce back nicely the following day recording as surprising 49.11 outing over 400m (#3 'Cat on the year).

Women's 800m: Sophomore Natalie Dinin didn't quite make our CCAA roster this year. She went into the Last Chance meet with something to prove to herself, and hungry to take a step forward. She would do just that, sailing through 400m in 67 seconds, and followed up with a 70-point final revolution, while slicing a full second from her PR.

Saturday Highlights:

Men's 1500's: All the guys in the 15 this week doubled back from earlier 8's or 5k's. Jack Emanuel led the way with a near-PB of 3:53.8, ending a storied career (2 time All American and 2 time CCAA Champ). Although Jack will miss the NCAA field, there's no denying the impact he's had on our program since hopping across the street to continue his academic and athletic pursuits (he's a Chico HS alum).

Joshua O'Neill would bounce back from his 5k PB with a 3:56 near-PB as well. Jayden Olea would keep the near-pb streak alive with an aggressively raced 3:59 finish (He led his heat for 1200m). Walker Doucette notched a 58-second final lap to win his heat in a seasonal best 4:04, the day after his 1:53.4 800 run.

Women's 1500: The 'Cats would send 3 women to the line in the metric mile. Junior Katie Hawley would lead the way with her 4:33 PB, run in last year's CCAA Championship final. Hawley is immensely talented, and a fierce competitor, but has a body that rarely cooperates fully with the rigors of even modest training loads. Thankfully she has been able to cobble together enough training through the season to run a nice 2:14 PB earlier in the season, and to make a run at sub 4:30 at Last Chance. One of the final seeds in her heat Katie rolled through 400m in dead last, but connected to the pack. The middle laps brought a bit of slowing, But Katie managed to move up a spot or two in each straight. A sizzling 69 second final revolution gave the Mt Carmel HS alumna a 4:30.6 PR and NCAA provisional mark. Her improved PB also moves her into the #8 spot on the school's all time list, bumping school steeple record holder (Alex Burkhart) off the formchart.

Natalie Dinin and Alex Steinmaus were in the same heat, and finished a fraction of a second from one another, but spent none of the race together (until the finish). As the pack hit 300m at a 5:00 pace, the usually timid Dinin grabbed the lead, and recorded a 74 second 400m split. The injection of pace left the Bella Vista HS alumna alone at the front of the field and wondering when the rest of the field might catch her.

The third lap brought some slowing, and with 1 circuit remaining Natalie relinquished the lead to a few fast-closing athletes. Thankfully Natalie saved a bit for the final 200m to secure the eventual near-PR (4:54). Steinmaus found a gear with 300m remaining and rallied for a 4:54 seasonal-best finish.

Women's Steeple We only had one steepler entered in the last chance meet, rs frosh Hannah Wirth. The Del Oro HS alumna had taken second behind Marissa D'Atri at CCAA's with an 11:05 PB. The goal at APU would be to become a 10-something runner, while also potentially cracking into the school's All-Time list (10:57 is #10-Katie Spencer-Costales). Hannah rolled through 4 laps on pace, and looking relatively strong. Laps 5 and 6 brought some slowing, and left her with some work to potentially crack the 11 min threshold. An 83 second final revolution brought her to a 2nd place finish, but left her just .61 seconds shy of goal #1. With 3 years of eligibility, and a season of experience behind her, I like Hannah's chances next year of moving well inside the school's list as well as into the NCAA conversation.

Next Up:

NCAA Championships: Marissa D'Atri (Steeple/5k), and Hannah Tiffany (10k/5k) will be the two representatives for the Wildcat distance crew at this year's NCAA meet. The two distance standouts will join Chloe Taylor (400h) and our women's 4 X 4 relay at the big dance. Chloe has enjoyed a massively successful spring, culminating (to this point) with a CCAA title, and a 58.5 400hurdles school record at Last Chance. Chloe would then anchor the women's 4 X 4 with a high 53 split helping the Wildcats to a 3:43 School Record, and NCAA qualifying run. Follow the 'Cats in Pueblo @: https://chicowildcats.com/ Action kicks off on Thursday with the women's prelims in the steeple, and the 10k final. Friday will bring the steeple final, and Saturday the 5k final.