The Wildcats track and field team had another strong showing this past weekend, taking home first place on the men’s and women’s side at the Wildcat Invitational by over 100 points each. This was the second of three meets hosted by Chico State this season, with the last one coming in April.
Men’s Finals
Junior Brody Staley had a great outing, taking home second in the 100 and 200 meters, with senior Trey Suffredini finishing shortly behind in fourth in the 200 meters.
The ’Cats success continued over into the 400 meter, with all Wildcats competing finishing in the top 10. Freshman Logan Cole, junior Harrison Hubbard and senior Jeffrey O’Brien grabbed fifth, sixth and seventh place out of 22 runners.
Junior Damian Garcia took first place in the 800-meter, with sophomore Michael Torres coming shortly behind in fifth place. Torres went on to set a new PR with a time of 1:57.74. Sophomores Alex Lamoureux and Adrian Hipolito finished just outside the top 10 in twelfth and thirteenth place.
The ’Cats went on to dominate the 1500 meter by taking eight of the top 10 spots. Junior Mario Giannini came in first and was off his PR by less than a second.
The long-distance success didn’t slow down, with senior Anders Beil taking first place in the 5000-meter and freshman Joseph DePascale taking third, setting a new PR of 15:26.70.
The men didn’t skip a beat going into the hurdles and continued their win streak. Freshman Lavel Cross set a new PR of 15.28, finishing first in the 110-meter hurdles. Freshman Lucas Curry finished in third with junior Jaiden Jenkins right behind him in fourth. Freshman Xander Newman finished in sixth.
Jenkins and Curry were the only Wildcats to participate in the 400-meter hurdles. Jenkins finished in fourth place and Curry did not finish.
The ’Cats jumpers also had a great showing. Junior Niko Lawrence took second in the high jump, finishing just one mark below his PR. Junior Chijioke Ihejirka set a new PR of 1.95 meters and took fourth place.
O’Brien earned a new PR in the long jump with a jump of 6.61 meters earning him second place in the event. Sophomore Statler Swanson and senior Travis Allen finished in seventh and eighth place.
Freshman Miguel Long had an outstanding showing in the triple jump. He took home first place and set a new PR with a mark of 13.81 meters. Swanson and sophomore Nehemiah Holiday tied for third with a mark of 13.39 meters.
Freshman Nathan Hernandez got second in the pole vault, with Cross coming shortly behind in fifth.
The ’Cats showed off their strength in the field events, with at least one Chico State athlete coming in the top three of all throwing events. Senior Jorge Barajas brought home second in the shot put, with freshmen Abraham Schykerynec and Alejandro Molina coming in fourth and fifth place.
The men’s domination continued into discus, where the ’Cats found themselves with five athletes in the top 10. Beau Gleeson took second place with Molina in third by less than a meter.
The story would stay the same for the hammer, with the ’Cats taking the top three spots and four of the top 10. First was senior Tyler St. Laurent, followed by Tad Desembrana and Sean Artist. Molina finished eighth.
The ’Cats would go on to take third, fourth and fifth in the javelin, led by senior Brady Giles, junior Freddy Southworth and Gleeson.
The ’Cats closed out the meet by taking third in the 4×100 relay and first in the 4×400 relay.
Womens Finals
The ’Cats started the day off to a fast start, taking four of the top five spots in the 100-meter. Seniors Teresa Vasconcellos finished in first, with Tianna Thompson shortly behind. Senior Madi Monroe came in fourth and sophomore Bella Morales was just one tenth of a second behind her for fifth.
Thompson and Morales continued their hot start, finishing fourth and fifth in the 200-meter. They were the only ’Cats to place in a scoring position.
Junior Emma Gaddy finished in first place in the 400-meter and set a new PR with a time of 55.77. The only other Wildcat in the event, sophomore Destin Armstrong, also earned a new PR with a time of 57.67 and finished in fifth place.
The women went on to dominate the 800-meter, taking the four top spots. Junior Sienna Bianchi took first with senior Sidney Garcia and sophomore Kaya Scuba finishing less than a second behind. Junior Catherine McGuire came in fourth.
The dominance continued into the 1500 meters, seeing the same result with the ’Cats once again taking the top four spots and Bianchi getting the win. The ’Cats would end up taking eight of the top 10 spots, all finishing within 10 seconds of Bianchi.
The women would continue their masterclass in the hurdles, taking the podium positions in the 100 and 400 meters. Senior Yanise Harris won first in the 100-meter hurdles and was just three tenths of a second off her PR. Freshman Jordin McDowell and senior Talynn Schroeder placed second and third. Senior Annabelle Low placed sixth.
Freshman Savannah Sawyer won the 400-meter hurdles with her new PR time of 1:04.50. McDowell and sophomore Mia Beltran finished less than half a second apart, taking second and third. Freshman Alexa Lawson finished right after in fourth.
Sophomore Olivia Beschorner put on an absolute clinic in the steeplechase, beating all the other athletes by more than two minutes.
The ’Cats didn’t slow down going into the field events. Freshman Laila Florvilus took first in the high jump with a new PR mark of 1.65 meters. Sophomore Allie Goetz came in second with a final mark of 1.60 meters.
The first-place streak continued for the ’Cats with Schroeder winning the long jump with a mark of 5.03 meters.
The ’Cats didn’t see as much success during the triple jump. Sophomore Hannah Spears finished in the middle of the pack in third out of five athletes. Right behind her in fourth was junior Taylan Flower, who notched a new PR with a mark of 9.88 meters.
The women would continue on to the pole vault, where all of Chico State’s athletes finished in the top 10. Junior Janey Rubio would be the highest placer for the ’Cats, sneaking into third place.
Despite the consistent success throughout the meet, the ’Cats struggled in the shot put. Saryah Harris-Davis was the only Wildcat in the top five with a mark of 10.63 meters. Harris-Davis and the ’Cats would bounce back in the Discus, taking second with sophomore Daeja Downing just over a meter behind in third.
Downing would continue her strong performance by taking third again in the javelin toss. Junior Ava Burton came in fourth place, followed by Low and Schroeder, also in the top 10.
To wrap up the day, the ’Cats took first place in the 4×100 relay, edging out Cal Poly Humboldt by less than a second. In the 4×400, the ’Cats took both first and second.
The next Track and Field outing is on March 20 and 21 at the Johnny Mathis Invitational, hosted by San Francisco State.
For information about all Chico State athletics or to keep up with the game live, visit the Wildcat home page, or watch through FloSports.
Cody Rowan can be reached at [email protected]
