Chico native runners, Iresh Molina and Mario Giannini, both crossed the finish line first on their home course, leading Chico State to consecutive men’s and women’s conference championships.

For the 23rd straight year, the diligence and motivation of the men’s cross country team secured the CCAA championship, the most in conference history. With five runners in the top 14, Chico State clocked a 2:03:12 combined time and scored 30 points, beating Cal Poly Pomona by six.

“It’s pretty surreal,” Head Coach Gary Towne said. “I knew on a given day we could do it, but honestly, in all 23 years, I don’t know that I went into it as prepared to sort of hand over the crown.”

The 2025 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) cross country championships returned to Chico after 12 years as the conference’s top programs converged at Hooker Oak Park on Friday.  

The Wildcats welcomed all 12 members of the CCAA to compete for team and individual conference titles on one of Northern California’s most scenic championship courses.

“It is a relatively flat, loop course,” Towne said. “I designed it back in 2013, and I was really trying to create something where it would be very spectator-friendly. So it kind of loops around without having to travel far.”

The women’s 6k race opened the event as Molina took the lead and didn’t let up for a single step. After Molina placed second overall last year, two seconds behind her twin sister Della, she claimed the top spot to capture her own moment of glory in her hometown. The senior surged through the course and finished first overall with a time of 21:32, seven seconds ahead of Annie Wild of Stanislaus State. 

“I know the girls behind me are super fast, they came right after me, so I knew they had to kick it.  So I was like, gotta lead it from the gun. I gotta be confident in my abilities and can’t let this go,” Molina said. 

Molina’s exceptional performance awarded her first CCAA runner of the year honors, adding to her list of accolades the All-American in 2023, All-West Region in 2022 and All-CCAA in both 2022 and 2023.

Having redshirted at the start of the season, Molina put on the uniform to compete for just her second race.

“We took a chance on it, but it worked out because, minus that, I don’t know if we’d get the win today,” Towne said. “That was really exciting. I can’t even believe what just happened.”

Junior Megan Malloy, freshman Paulina Martins, freshman Kira Forsberg and junior Sienna Bianchi also delivered strong performances, each finishing in the top 10. Their collective efforts clinched the women’s third straight CCAA championship, putting up a total time of 1:49:33 and 25 points to defeat second-place Stanislaus State. Martins received freshman of the year honors while Forsberg was named newcomer of the year. 

On the men’s side, Giannini cruised through the men’s 8k, taking the lead during the final lap to finish first overall with a time of 24.20. The defending champion captured his second straight individual title and earned his third CCAA runner of the week honors.  

“I think that, mentally especially, I broke through a wall of pain that I don’t usually have to,” Giannini said.  

Fellow Wildcat junior runner Damian Garcia finished second and Ricardo Vargas from Cal Poly Pomona finished third.

Giannini has run the Hooker Oak Park course throughout his high school and collegiate careers and knows the trail by heart, giving him an advantage over his opponents.

Although Giannini has won the CCAA championships before, he was still feeling some effects of being ill the week prior. Combined with the pressure of his hometown watching, what Giannini was feeling was enough to shake anybody’s confidence.

“I missed five days of exercise last week because I got sick,” Giannini said. “I think that lowered my confidence a lot.”

Despite the setback, like all great athletes do, Giannini found his own way to overcome the adversity and perform to the best of his ability.

“It was probably the most nervous I’ve ever been for a race, just because of expectations I had for myself and how many of it was just nervous excitement,” Giannini said. “There’s obviously so many people here to support, but at the same time, I just feel the pressure of that … It’s my hometown. I want to do something big, you know?”  

Giannini and Garcia weren’t the only Wildcats to place in the top 10. Sophomore Sergio Cuartas III finished fourth with a time of 24:44, and junior Matthew Gordon finished right behind him at 24:46. 

As one of the most successful coaches in Chico State athletics history, Towne began his tenure as head coach of the men’s and women’s cross country programs in 1996. Since then, both teams have made themselves contenders for conference, regional and national titles every season. Towne also guides the distance runners on the track team.

After this CCAA meet at Hooker Oak Park, Towne clinched his 17th straight CCAA Cross Country Coach of the Year award. Towne has coached the Wildcats to capture 25 CCAA team titles as well as eight national top-10 finishes.

Looking to win their ninth straight regional title, the Wildcats will continue their season at the West Regionals in Oregon on November 8.

Gallery // 19 Photos

Giannini fighting for the lead for the Wildcats during the back end of the race. Photo taken by Aiyana Curry on Oct. 24, 2025.

For information about all Chico State athletics or to keep up with the game live, visit the Wildcat home page, or watch through FloSports.

Rebecca Gonzalez can be reached at [email protected] or [email protected]. 

Aiyana Curry can be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].

Malisse Busby can be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].