Your Chico State distance 'Cats just returned from a very productive 3 day distance running extravaganza in So Cal on the weekend. Our distance squad was scattered between two meets, Bryan Clay (hosted by APU) and the Leopard Invite at Laverne University. It's hard to describe just how wild the schedules are, and how tired we are now, but the fact that we arrived at the APU track on Thursday morning at 5:45am with our 10k crew, and left the track (for the final time) that night at 12:30am (following Mario's 10k) you get the idea. In fact, we had an athlete in the meet's first race (7:00am Thursday morning) and an athlete in the last race (11:30pm Saturday night). Through the madness, endless split calling, and Chiiiiccoooo Chants the 'Cats came away with a lot of great performances. Leading the charge was Damian Garcia, who ran a big negative splitted 1:49.6 800M on Friday and doubled back with a 3:40.6 in the 1500 the next night. Although he might have missed breaking 4 at home the week previous, his 3:40 converts down under 4 minutes. As they have all season the Molina twins also shone, as the pair raced to a near tie in the 5k recording the 2nd and 3rd fastest times in school history (16:16) barely missing Marissa D'Atri's school record mark by just 2 seconds. Speaking of Chico HS alum, Mario Giannini ran our school's 4th fastest 10k ever with his 29:04 on Thursday night.
We might be exhausted from the travel and late nights, but it was well worth the effort. Please follow below as I list the performances recorded by our athletes over the weekend and then follow up with a few words on some of the big highlights.
Men's 800m: Damian Garcia (Jr) 1:49.66 (#7 AT CSUC) Brett Ephraim (Fr) 1:52.43 (PR) Jacob Camacho (Fr) 1:54.79 (PR) Aaron Feaster (Fr) 1:56 red shirting true frosh Women's 800m: Catherine McGuire (Jr) 2:14.61 (PR) Kaya Scuba (So) 2:15.81 Sidney Garcia (Sr) 2:20.34 Men's 1500m: Damian Garcia (Jr) 3:40.65 (#4 NCAA, 2nd fastest in Chico history behind Damian's 3:39 from '25) Alex Lamoureux (So) 3:49.89 (PR) Aaron Feaster (Fr) 3:54.50 (PR) red shirting true frosh Travis Selby (Sr) 3:58.23 (SB) Michael Torres (So) 3:58.89 Sean Alliegro (So) 3:59.59 (post 5k PR) Women's 1500: Sienna Bianchi (Jr) 4:27.47 (#3 AT CSUC, NCAA, PR) Iresh Molina (Jr) 4:28.50 (#6 AT CSUC, NCAA, PR) Kaya Scuba (So) 4:34.31 (SB) Catherine McGuire (Jr) 4:34.81 (PR) Madison Decker (Jr) 4:40.61 (PR) Women's 3k Steeple: Olivia Beschorner (So) 10:45.95 (NCAA) Zoe Aitken (So) 11:00.63 (PR) Katelyn Espino (So) 11:31.98 (PR) Men's Steeple: Joseph DePascale (Jr) 9:15 (PR) Anders Beil (Sr) 9:17 (2nd best time) Adrian Hippolito (So) 9:20 Women's 5k: Della Molina (Jr) 16:16.87 (#2 AT CSUC, PR, NCAA)* Iresh Molina (Jr) 16:16.90 (#3 AT CSUC, PR, NCAA)* Megan Malloy (Jr) 16:59 (suffering from respiratory virus) Isabel Rosales (Fr) 17:13.3 Jasmine Fletcher (Sr) 17:29 April Anguiano (Fr) 17:40 (PR) Roxana Diaz (So) 18:20 (PR) Grace Reed (So) 18:25 *It should be noted that Iresh and Della's 3k splits (9:46, 9:47) were auto timed and are #5/6 on the CSUC #k Top-10 list. Men's 5k: Sean Alliegro (So) 14:21.49 (PR) Jesus Villarreal (Sr) 14:35 Sergio Cuartas (So) 14:39 Andrew Stevens (So) 15:01 Women's 10k: Paulina Martins (Fr) 34:55.41 (#8 AT CSUC, True Frosh CSUC record, NCAA, Debut) Kira Forsberg (Fr) 35:17.00 (#12 AT CSUC, NCAA) Men's 10k: Mario Giannini (Jr) 29:04.56 (#4 AT CSUC, NCAA, PR) Matthew Gordon (Jr) 30:59
Highlights from the weekend:
Damian Garcia's 800/1500 double was certainly one of the best in our school's history. On Friday Damian's heat in the 800 (that included 3:51 pro miler Sam Gilman) went out exceptionally slow hitting 200m in 28 seconds! Seeing the slow early split the pack accelerated and hit the bell in 55+ seconds. Damian reached 600m in 1:22 while running beside a Weber State athlete in the lead. Gillman sat behind in third. With 150 to go Gillman exploded around the pair at the front, and sprinted to the line with a massive 1:48 negative split. Damian would close in 53.9 for the final revolution, but was no match for Gillman's 52.point. Not surprisingly Gillman won the fastest section of the 1500 the next evening employing the same finishing speed.
In the 1500 Damian's 3:39 from last year's last chance meet got him into the third fastest section at Bryan Clay. Unfortunately, much of the field appeared hesitant to run with the pacer, so Damian and another athlete or two bridged up to catch the rabbit during a 57 second lap of the track. As the pacer stepped off after 800m Damian inherited the lead, with several athletes in tow. Just after the bell NAU's Clay Shively (a 3:56 miler) made his way around Damian, along with several others. Damian fought hard the final 300m and would hit the tape 5th, just 1 second behind Shively's 3:39 finish time. Damian's 3:40.6 is his second best ever and puts him (2 seconds) ahead of where he was a year ago at this meet. It should also be noted that Damian beat some very fast guys, including a few 3:56 milers.
Twins 5k Highlights:
Despite having Pr's separated by just 3 seconds going into the season, Della and Iresh were initially entered into different heats. With some help from meet management we were able to get Iresh bumped into Della's faster section. With a solid xc season behind her and a school record 10k, Iresh had hoped to run in the 16:0's, if not faster if the heat allowed. Della, who'd missed most of the summer, and the entire fall of training has been showing steady progress and hoped to improve her 16:17 PR.
As it would turn out, the heat was perfect for Della, but not fast enough for Iresh. While Stanford red shirt Julia Flynn (a 4:37 HS miler) sailed away from the pack early, Iresh was left pretty quickly into the race having to do the pacing of the lead pack. Della was tucked into the group and followed her sister by a second or two most of the race. As the early laps of pacing took their toll, Iresh gave up a few seconds to several athletes late in the run. As the leaders approached the bell Della (who always has a handy closing kick) drew even alongside her sister. They would need a 67/68 final lap to take Marissa D'Atri's 16:14 school record. Della gradually employed her kick and with each passing meter she made up ground on the few athletes (not named Flynn) who still ran ahead. Not wanting to allow her sister to beat her, Iresh held on tight to her sister's building momentum. Coming off the final turn the two ran side by side sprinting to the finish. Della would win the sibling rivalry award for the day crossing the line just .03 ahead of Iresh. The pair had taken 2nd and 3rd overall, and each closed in 70.89 seconds (as listed on the official timing results). Their 16:16 PR's are the second and third fastest 12.5 lappers in school history, and place them among the top of the updated NCAA list. They are now qualified for NCAA's in the 5k and 10k.
Megan Malloy also raced a 5k at APU, but a lingering respiratory infection took most of the wind out of her sails. At mid race she was having a hard time breathing and was literally pointing at her throat as she just held on the best she could. Despite the issues Megan still held on to break 17 for the second time. Hopefully she'll have another shot at running under 16:40 this season.
Isabel Rosales (Fr), Jasmine Fletcher (Sr), and April Anguiano (Fr) would all run solid 5k's at the Laverne Invite.. Rosales has now run under 17:15 twice on the season. Anguanio dipped under 18 for the first time with her 17:40 PB.
Women's 1500m:
Iresh Molina would double back from her Friday 5k PR with a big 1500 PB. Going in with a 4:33 PR Iresh knew that a sub 4:30 could be in the cards, based on recent workout splits. Despite being buried in a large pack for much of the race, Iresh broke free and closed in 68 seconds while running a 4:28. Her new personal best ranked her 6th on the school's all time list, and moved her ahead of teammate Sienna Bianchi (for about an hour) who was prepping for her own 1500 later in the evening.
Sienna Bianchi stepped to the line hoping to run in the mid 4:20's. Running in a field that was out aggressively the Fresno native hit 400 in 69 seconds, and 800 in 2:21.0. Some time was given up in the second half of the race but Sienna held on tight, finishing 4th in her heat in a new 4:27.48 PR. Sienna's new PB moves her all the way into the 3rd spot on our school's top 10 list, leapfrogging teammate Iresh Molina who'd just run a 4:28 an hour before.
Catherine McGuire continues to be one of the great stories among our team. Having joined our track team after quitting the soccer squad at CSUC in the fall, Catherine has continued to chop time off her PR's. This week she recorded two more PR's.. 2:14-800m on Friday, and 4:34 for 1500 on Saturday! With more season ahead, and another year of eligibility you have to like Catherine's chances of becoming a sub 4:30 runner as a Wildcat. It should be noted that after this weekend there is just 1 remaining time in our school's top-10 that isn't under 4:30 (Della Molina's 4:31).
Kaya Scuba is a shade behind where she was last year, but she would still record a nice 4:34 1500 seasonal best in her race at Clay as well. Also, Maddison Decker lopped an impressive 4 seconds off her lifetime best at Laverne while becoming the 10th 'Cat on the year to run 4:40 or faster this season. We have some depth on the women's side!
Men's 10k:
Mario Giannini has been through a LOT of ups and downs in his 3.5 years in Chico. Thankfully this spring has offered our first full season of mostly uninterrupted training, and Mario stepped to the line with the fire and confidence that comes with each of these preceding factors. With the pace-lights set at an even 29:00 clip (69/70 per lap) Mario got himself out among the top quarter of the 30+ runner field, and went to work on running the pace as efficiently as possible. A long line of men rolled through 5k around 14:30 including Giannini. The second half brought the expected fractures of the lead pack, and Mario employed a 67 (16th lap) and a 68 a few later, in order to stay with the leaders, who matched the pace-lights to the best of their abilities. Over the final mile Mario's relative lack of overall miles began to catch up with him as a trio of men began to leave the lights behind as they searched for sub 29 minute runs. Despite not having the legs to cover the move of the leaders Mario held on nicely. Given the grind that the 10k is, Mario's 66 at the end was a nice close and gave him a 29:04 PB. With this result Mario becomes the 'Cats 4th fastest 10k runner, trailing only multi-time All Americans Scott Bauhs, Isaac Chavez, and Will Reyes. He also punches his ticket to his first NCAA Track Championship.
Women's 10k:
The 'Cats would send true frosh Paulina Martins, and red shirt frosh Kira Forsberg to the line in the 10k. Unfortunately the pair would race in different heats, but both enjoyed very impressive debuts. Kira was in the slower of the two heats and when the main pack wasn't hitting the splits that she wanted, (to try to get under 35 minutes) Kira ended up leading a small chase group for quite a few laps of the first half. 5k was reached in 17:38 (note that Kira's 5k Pr was 17:55 entering this season). During the second half, a large main group caught the tiring Chico runner. Kira did a great job of latching onto the group as long as she could and although she wasn't able to negative split the race (as the big pack had) she ended up running another 17:38 5k to finish in 35:17. Going into this season Kira's time would have ranked her among the school's top 10, but Megan Malloy's 34:34 Stanford run adjusted the list a bit and Forsberg became the 11th fastest 25 lapper in school history. For about :45min.. as Paulina Martins was about to step to the line in her own debut.
Paulina's debut in the 10k was looking a bit shaky in the early going. Although she was hitting the splits that would give her a chance at running sub 35, the true frosh looked a bit uncomfortable and unsure of herself. By 5k (17:28) Paulina had fallen from the main pack and now ran mostly alone, adrift between groups. Somewhere in the fifth mile Paulina began working with another athlete who'd fallen from the pack early on, and the two began trading laps, never losing sight of the big group ahead. Paulina hit 8k in 28:04 and then dropped 83, 85, 85, and 81 seconds laps. The 81 second penultimate revolution put her within grasp of the back end of the splintering main group, and seeing the opportunity ahead Paulina pounced, closing in a 73 second final lap, taking her all the way into 8th overall. Her 34:55 debut becomes by far the fastest true frosh to have run the 10k event for Chico State, and now ranks her #8 AT CSUC. To highlight the depth of our women's 10k crew this year.. We now have 4 of the school's 8 fastest 10k runners on the team currently. It should also be noted that we've had quite a few All Americans in the 10k over the years. This is a special group for sure!
Steeples:
Olivia Beschorner had run a massive 10:42 breakout PR while winning her race in SF two weeks ago in less than ideal conditions. Running in the evening at APU Beschorner would enjoy Perfect conditions, and had a great field to work with in trying to nab a 10:30ish mark that it'll probably take to get to NCAA's. Unfortunately it wasn't to be on this evening and Olivia faded to an eventual 10:45 finish. Despite being a bit disappointed in the result, Olivia still managed to run her second best time to date and is hungry to capitalize in her next outing.
Over in LaVerne Zoe Aitken nearly dipped into the 10's with her 11:00 PR run. Zoe has all of the tools to be a great one, and Friday offered another step forward for the sophomore. Teammate Katelyn Espino also enjoyed a small 11:30 PR at Laverne.
Adrian Hippolito has been trying to take the big step forward and get under that 9:00 threshold. At Fanelli he was on pace with 600m remaining, but faded to a 9:08. At APU he looked very good rolling through 4 laps in 4:42, but the final K was challenging and he faded to a 9:20 (the hard way). Joseph DePascale a transfer from San Diego Mesa managed a nice 9:15 run at Laverne with teammate Anders Beil just behind in 9:17.
Alex Lamoureux:
A year ago Alex Lamoureux was trying to find his groove and confidence. He'd run five 1500's and only cracked 4 minutes in 1 of them. This season he's really finding his confidence, and groove. After an early season low 14:30's 5k Alex has followed up with a 3:50 for 1500, then a week later a 4:07 full mile. Now on Friday Alex cruised through 800m in 2:02 and made it stick nicely with a 3:49 15 PB.
Men's 5k:
Most of our 5k men for the weekend were all placed in the same evening heat at APU. Jesus Villarreal (14:24 PB), Sergio Cuartas (14:26), and Sean Alliegro (14:27) would all toe the line in hopes of a 14:teens run. Sean looked very strong for much of the race, covering 3200 in 9:09, but Cuartas never looked great, nor did Jesus, who later said that he had digestive issues throughout the run. Sean, who has a history of fading late in races, held on pretty well in this one and nabbed a solid 14:21 PR. A year ago Sean's PR was 14:55, so he's enjoyed a great season to date. Cuartas faded to a disappointing 14:39, and Jesus held on for a 14:34.
Next up: CCAA Championships next week in San Marcos.
Action starts on Thursday April 30th with 1500 heats and 10k finals.
