SPRINGFIELD, OR - The past several years the 'Cats have split their rosters at mid season between big races in the mid west, and San Francisco. Sending our top runners to high powered meets with a lot of competition earns the team valuable points toward qualifying for NCAA's in case we finish outside the top 3 in the regional championships later in the season. Given that we're not able to run the majority of our roster in the larger Invites, the San Francisco Invitational has been a great opportunity for everyone to gain the valuable experience that's needed to progress.

This year we had the opportunity to run in Oregon's Dellinger Invitational in relatively quaint, but DI heavy field. Thankfully the SF Invite was scheduled for the same day, so we were able to send out 4 different scoring teams on the same day. Results on the day: A pair of 3rd place finishes in Oregon, and two dominant wins in SF. It was another solid weekend for the 'Cats! Please follow along for some quick re-caps of each race.

Bill Dellinger Invitational:
Women's 6k:

The Lady 'Cats went into the weekend without CCAA Champion Della Molina who had suffered a medical event earlier in the week. Thankfully Della is going to be fine, but she wasn't quite ready to step into a racing situation yet. Either way, the 'Cats sent 6 experienced women to the line in Eugene and this coach felt confident in their chances of a Top-3-4 finish.

For those who have followed our program through the years, I can say that our women's start was historically similar to some of our past ones.. This means that we left ourselves with a lot of work to do after a less than ideal start stretch. Thankfully the field was relatively small, and we have a group of women who have navigated well after early deficits in the past. With 13 teams in the field we ran in 10th overall at the 1k split mat (243 points). The 2k split mat brought a lower score (219), but the Chico women still ran in 10th place.

The women's scores at the subsequent Kilometer check points tell the story. 3k (168), 4k (145), 5k (127), Finish= 115! Leading the way with a massive finish was Junior Megan Malloy. The Northgate HS alum stormed through the field, and the fourth fastest final K of the race landed her an 8th place finish. Host school Oregon ran nearly their entire A squad in this one and Megan finished just 2 seconds behind their #4 runner (a 15:52 5k gal!). Second year star Paulina Martins followed Malloy closely in 11th and just a few seconds behind Oregon's #5. Senior Sienna Bianchi lopped over 10 points off her score during the final kilometers while hitting the finish in 25th (her best XC race to date). Kira Forsberg and Olivia Beschorner would finish the 'Cats scoring with 36th and 40th place finishes.

Going into the weekend we knew that Oregon would be a lock for the team win. Little was known about Canada's U of Victoria (who ended up placing 2nd). We did know that UC Irvine would be a challenge though, as they had easily won the UC Riverside Invite a few weeks ago with a very impressive 20:28 team average. Irvine had rested their top runner from Dellinger at Riverside, so the fact that our women (running without our own #1) were able to edge Irvine by 3 points was a nice tribute to this group of gritty distance runners. Other notable DI's that the 'Cats took down on the day. Cal Berkeley, Weber State, Idaho, Southern Utah, San Diego State, and UC Riverside. The Chico women have a lot to be proud of, and much to look forward to after this one.

Bill Dellinger Invitational:
Men's 8k:

Yours truly was not present in Eugene, as assistant coach Kruetzfeldt took the crew north for the Dellinger meet. With the SF races scheduled in the late afternoon a bus full of 'Cats crowded around my laptop as we made our way to the city, while teammates raced in Eugene.

The Chico men enjoyed a pretty solid start in their race, and at times you could see Matt Gordon, or Sean Alliegro operating just off the front of the pack. Funny enough, usual top runner Mario Giannini was never visible behind the wall of Ducks and other quick starters in the early going. Alliegro who's HS best for 5k XC was the 16:31 he ran at the State Championships looked a LOT more like the guy who'd broken through last track season with a 30:0's 10k, than the senior at Mira Costa HS, as he ran among the top 15 overall through the first 7k of the race.

Points-wise the Chico men ran between 3rd and 4th place throughout the run, despite the fact that last year's regional champion Damian Garcia was never in a scoring position. Damian's track season extended to the end of July with his running the USATF Championships in New York, so Friday was his rust-buster after 3-4 weeks of workouts with his teammates. Damian never looked himself on Friday, but he'll have 4 weeks of training ahead before lining up in our first championship race. Also having a rough outing was true frosh Alijah Murillo who had an incredible collegiate debut at the St Mary's meet, but struggled mightily in Oregon. Thankfully Mario Giannini, Sean Alliegro, Matthew Gordon, Michael Torres and Sergio Cuartas all had solid days at the office and kept the 'Cats among the top of the heap throughout.

I mentioned earlier that those of us on the bus didn't get many glimpses of Mario in the early going, and part of that was due to the fact that NCAA 1500m record holder Simeon Burnbaum, and teammate Connor Burns (13:30's 5k guy in HS) were racing away from the field. Those who were following the real-time scoring were letting the rest of us know that Mario was moving his way through the top-10 over the second half of the race. It was VERY exciting to hear the announcer mention that Giannini was tearing through the field, and at times we could start to see him as he made up meters on a fading Burns.

Simeon would take the overall win, with Burns finishing second. A few seconds later the familiar figure of Mario Giannini came roaring down the finish straight, notching perhaps his biggest XC performance to date while taking third. Sean Alliegro gave up a few spots over the final kilometer but held on nicely for an 18th place finish, just 1 second ahead of teammate Matthew Gordon. With three across in the top-20 the men were in a great position for a top-3 performance. Sergio Cuartas gave us 4 among the top-23, and Michael Torres would close the scoring with a 27th place finish. Damian would cross in 33rd and Alijah in 63rd. Overall a really nice effort for the Chico men, and there's no doubt that there's a lot more out there as we get the entire crew clicking on all cylinders.

Perhaps the highlight of the SF bus experience was listening to the announcer reflect on the twin 3rd place finishes of the Chico squads as he asked "what are they doing up there in Chico?. Just coming down here to Eugene and have just knocked everybody's socks off." This is paraphrasing a bit, but it was a very nice compliment to our program and the work that these athletes have poured into representing our community and university.

San Francisco State Invitational (Golden Gate Park)
Friday October 9, 2026

Women's 6k:

This year's San Francisco invite was a bit smaller than usual, which was somewhat disappointing given that the past years have offered fields between 15-20 teams. This year around 10 teams were present, including Westmont, San Jose State, UC Merced, San Bernardino, and the host Gators of SF State. Thankfully, given the size of our team, and the depth of the roster, the competition near the front would be good enough to provide a solid race experience for everyone.

Defending CCAA champ Iresh Molina, who's exhausted her XC eligibility for the 'Cats (but still has a final track season remaining) used the SF meet as her seasonal debut.

From the gun Iresh took to the front, leading every step of the run from gun to tape. Isabel Rosales, who'd have a rough go at the St Mary's invite, ran alone in second for the first 2k or so before being caught and passed by UC Merced's Emma Drelinger. The rest of the 'Cats hogged most of the top 20-30 positions among the field as they circuited the Golden Gate park 2k loop under perfect, foggy conditions. One of the biggest surprises of the day was the emergence of RS frosh Ava Csutoras, a Chico HS alum, who emerged from the pack to join Rosales during the second mile of the competition. While Isabel and Ava chased Merced's top runner, three freshmen teammates Maya Schiro, Veronica Bell, and Lucy Varela worked together (along with Westmont's top runner Sophia Hernandez).

Molina would sail away for an easy victory in her seasonal debut. Merced's frosh star Emma Drelinger would place second. Isabel Rosales would pull clear of teammate Csutoras for third. Ava would finish fourth, just holding off true frosh teammate Maya Schiro. Westmont's Hernandez would finish next in 6th. Chico would wrap up their scoring with Veronica Bell and Lucy Varela's 7th and 8th place finishes. The 'Cats would score an impressive 22 points for the win and put no less than 9 across the line before 2nd place Westmont's second runner!

Perhaps the two biggest surprises of the day were former Chico HS teammates Ava Csutoras and Claire Edwards. As mentioned previously Ava has run well outside our team's top-15 since her arrival last fall, so her 4th place finish today was Very impressive. Edwards also made a Huge leap forward on Saturday lopping nearly 2 full minutes from her time on the same course a year ago! On Friday Claire finished 14th overall with a massive 22:38 PR! Of course race winner Iresh Molina is also a Chico HS alum, and soon you'll read about another Chico HS breakout in the men's race.

Men's 8k:

As lopsided as the women's race was, the men's was possibly even worse. Going into the race we knew that SF State's top guy Julian Vargas was a solid contender and potentially the favorite for the individual title. Vargas had just finished 5th overall at Western Washington's home invitational and had run in the 24:20's in both of his 8k races this fall.

Although I had no idea at the time, but following the race the Chico men shared of how Vargas was talking a LOT during the race, directing some strongly worded language at our top runners, and even using an elbow in an attempt to somehow intimidate his Chico foes. As it turns out Vargas' strategies seemed to backfire, as a Chico dominated lead pack that included 6-7 different Wildcats nearly all beat him to the finish. Chico's true frosh Peter Kendall did some leading early on, as did All-CCAA steepler Adrian Hipolito. Around mid-race a few other Wildcats made a push to the front, and created some separation between themselves and Vargas and a few of the previously mentioned 'Cats. Joseph DePascale, one of our few seniors in the race pulled teammates Preston Mullen (Fr), and Charlie Brennan (So) clear of the field, and soon it become a three-man race for the eventual title.

Peter Kendall, Stephan Chapdelaine, and Andrew Stevens traded surges with Vargas, and Westmont's top runner Philip Contakes through the second half of the run.

Given how well Chico HS alum had done on the day, it was no surprise to see Charlie Brennan emerge from the lead trio down the final stretch, hitting the tape in a 24:54 PR. Preston Mullen (who barely made our roster a year ago as a true frosh out of HS) would finish second, while DePascale cruised in third. Peter Kendall and Stephan Chapdelaine (both 25:06) would secure the Wildcat sweep with their 4th and 5th place finishes. *Note that Vargas would finish some 6 seconds behind our final scorer, after earning CCAA Athlete of the Week several weeks ago. Adrian Hipolito (8th), and Andrew Stevens (9th) would give the 'Cats 7 of the top 9 finishers on the day.

Next Up:

The 'Cats return to racing this coming weekend at Santa Clara's Bronco Invite. Once again we'll have 4 different scoring groups as Bronco has scored Invite and Open races, and we'll have full squads in each.