Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
Sep 4, 20173 min
The 4th place team from last year loses the 6th place cross country individual in Will Reyes. Reyes also took home 7th in the 10,000m and 9th in the 5,000m in the NCAA Outdoor championships this past spring. On the bright side, the Wildcats return Kyle Medina, the 11th place individual from the cross country National Championship in 2016. He will lead the charge for another National Championship bid. Along with a deep recruiting class, the Wildcats should be a team to watch in 2017.
The 2016 season for Chico State was one to remember as they won all of their meets except the NCAA’s. They opened their year at the Humboldt Invite with a perfect score and placed 11 runners in the top 12. The Wildcats went on to win the Capital Cross Challenge where they beat D1 teams including Arizona State, California, Loyola and more in the process.
Chico State continued their winning ways at the Triton Invitational scoring only 23 points. Then again at the CCAA Championships scoring only 20 points. They continued to cruise through their season winning again at the West Regional Championships in dominant fashion with a score of 45 points while also beating Alaska Anchorage and Cal Poly, two teams that started 2017 ranked in the top eight.
Chico then took their only loss of the year at the NCAA Cross Country National Championships where they finished fourth overall. The Wildcats ran a strong race with a tough 1-2 punch as Will Reyes and Kyle Medina finished 4th and 9th. Their three, four, and five runners placed 45th, 51st, and 57th.
Looking towards the 2017 season, the Wildcats have lost their leader in Will Reyes, however Kyle Medina seems poised to follow in his footsteps for his senior season. Behind him, they return only their 4th and 7th runners from the NCAA Championship which leaves many questions on who will fill the void.
The Wildcats have brought in some of the best prep runners in California to make for a very strong recruiting class. At the top of their recruiting class is San Bernardino Valley Community College transfer Luis Ortega. He is the Southern California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Cross Country Champion who will bring some experience to the Wildcats.
Chico State has also brought in five more recruits from California including Trad Berti and Jhavahn Holston. Berti has ran 4:10 in the mile, 9:10 for 3200m, and 14:57 for 5000m. Holston has run 14:34 for three miles and ran 15:37 to win his heat at Mt. Sac. Both of these athletes could make an immediate impact for the Wildcats, I’d expect to see multiple newcomers in Chico State’s top seven come November.
The schedule for the Wildcats is again limited in 2017 with just three races before their conference championships. This can work both for and against the Wildcats. Saving athletes for postseason meets limits the experience that younger guys will have before the important races. Especially when they have to face tough competition at the West Regional Championships from Alaska Anchorage, Cal Poly and the likes. I expect this race to be a telling race for Chico State, showing their true National Championship chances.
With Media leading the way, the Wildcats look poised to make another run for the national title. Chico State is a 15-time defending CCAA champions and the defending West Regional Champions. They open their season at UC Riverside on September 16th.