The Wildcats’ track and field teams returned to University Stadium for their final home meet of the season. Both the men’s and women’s squads delivered standout performances, highlighted by personal bests, broken records and NCAA provisional marks.
Kicking off the weekend in historic fashion, senior Sage Coyle made her mark in the women’s hammer throw. On her very first attempt Friday, she became the first Chico State women’s thrower to surpass the 50-meter mark. Coyle shattered her personal best and set a new program record with a throw of 51.78 meters, surpassing the previous record set in 2019.
Adding to the excitement on Saturday, sophomore Damian Garcia, recently named the FloCollege/CCAA Track Athlete of the Week, delivered a remarkable performance in the mile. Competing in the event for only the second time in his career, Garcia clocked a time of 4:01.88 on his home track, ranking as the fourth-fastest time in NCAA Division II Men’s Outdoor Track & Field history. He finished just two seconds behind Wildcat legend Scott Bauhs, whose 3:59.81 from 2008 remains the second-fastest time in Division II history.
Continuing the string of standout performances, senior Vincent Rinaldi earned his first NCAA provisional mark as an individual, finishing the 200-meter dash in 21.16 seconds. In addition to hitting the provisional standard, Rinaldi came within 0.18 seconds of breaking his own school record from 2023.
The pole vault also saw strong results for the Wildcats, as seniors Justin Craven and Jose Sandoval both notched NCAA provisional marks. Craven cleared 4.95 meters, matching his mark from the previous week’s Brutus Hamilton Multis. His performance ranks 15th nationally and stands as the 10th best in program history. Sandoval followed closely, clearing 4.85 meters to secure a spot in a competitive tie for 22nd in the country.
The throws continued to impress, with senior Chance Hefter enhancing his NCAA provisional mark in the shot put. He threw 16.70 meters, moving up to 24th nationally and winning the event by 0.30 meters. Hefter doubled down on his success by also winning the discus, tying his provisional mark of 51.04 meters set just a week earlier at the Stanford Invitational. He entered the week ranked 28th in the nation in that event.
On the track, the Wildcats men’s 4×100-meter relay team — made up of Willshawn Rusthon-Grisby, Vincent Rinaldi, Brody Staley and Jordan Caliz — delivered a strong showing with a time of 41.11 seconds. Their effort ranks as the seventh-fastest relay performance in Chico State history.
The women’s team also continued to build momentum in the field events. Junior Andrea Villata earned top honors in the javelin early Saturday with a throw of 40.80 meters. Freshman teammate Jessi Rae Flynn rounded out the top three with a personal-best mark of 37.21 meters.
Senior Natalie Muse delivered a standout performance on Saturday, setting new personal bests in several events, including the shot put (9.85m), 100-meter dash (12.66), and 100-meter hurdles (14.77). Her most notable achievement came in the long jump, where she secured first place with a mark of 5.64 meters.
The women’s field athletes continued to shine as sophomore Janey Rubio delivered a personal best in the pole vault at 3.67 meters, while freshman Allie Goetz secured first place in the high jump with a 1.60-meter mark and sophomore Carly Harriman followed in third at 1.55 meters.
Capping off a dominant weekend for the women’s team, senior Danielle Bacon claimed first place in the 400-meter dash with a time of 56.86 seconds—just shy of her personal best.
Next up, the Wildcats will face a quick turnaround as they travel to Southern California for one of the nation’s premier meets, the Bryan Clay Invitational hosted by Azusa Pacific. They’ll also compete in several other key events, including the Leopard Invitational at La Verne, the Beach Invitational at Long Beach State and the Black and Gold Invite at Butte College.
For more results on the team, visit the Chico State athletics website.
Trevor Lee can be reached at [email protected].
