Both the women’s and men’s cross country teams matched each other’s success, each taking first place in the NCAA West Regionals in Monmouth, Oregon on Saturday. They have each now qualified for national competition.
The women’s team displayed an astounding performance, finishing 46 points ahead of Cal Poly Pomona. Six of seven Wildcat runners finished in the top 25 to earn All-West Region honors.
Just three seconds away from the individual title, senior Iresh Molina earned a career-best second-place finish with a time of 20:32 in the 6k, gaining her fourth consecutive All-West Region award.
Juniors Megan Malloy and Sienna Bianchi delivered record-breaking performances, each earning their first All-West Region awards. Malloy clocked a career-best 20:43 for sixth place, while Bianchi recorded a personal-best 20:59 for 11th place.
Freshman Paulina Martins continued her breakout season with her first career All-West Region award and top-10 finish at a regional championship. She finished in ninth place at a time of 20:53.
The men’s team delivered a powerful finish for a total time of 2:30:51 and a 13-point lead over Western Washington.
Junior Damian Garcia led the charge for the Wildcats, claiming his first NCAA individual title after a 29:26 finish in the 10k.
Mario Giannini finished 10th with a time of 30:02, while Matthew Gordon placed 15th in 30:14. Both juniors earned their third straight All-West Region awards, and senior Jesus Villarreal collected the honor for the first time in his career with an 18th-place showing in 30:23.
The Wildcats now advance to the NCAA Championships in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Nov. 22.
For information about all Chico State athletics or to keep up live, visit the Wildcat home page, or watch through FloSports.
Rebecca Gonzalez can be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].
