TSR's 2022 Preseason D2 XC Top 10 Rankings (Men): #5 Chico State Wildcats

Edits and additional commentary by Garrett Zatlin

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When we first sat down to figure out our team rankings, we had a hard time placing Chico State in a spot that we thought would be acceptable. And it just so happens that we chose to rank the Wildcats in the exact same position where they ended their 2021 fall campaign at the national meet.

When you look at their projected lineup coming into this season, there is a lot to like about this Chico State team. They’re nearly identical in their lineup structure to last year, but they might have an even more potent scoring group after seeing their improvements on the track this past spring.

The Wildcats have one of the better three-man scoring groups in the country, and may even extend to their top-four, but they will only go as far as their final one or two scorers take them. If they can be on the right side of the results, then Chico State might be one of the top-five teams in the country and not just in top-10 contention.

* * *

When looking at their results from the 2021 season, it doesn’t come as much surprise that the Wildcats were a top-10 team last year. But what did come as a surprise was how good this team looked after a nearly two-year hiatus from a competitive setting.

Due to the pandemic and then a string of wildfires in northern California, the Chico State men were forced to be sidelined, unable to race during that two-year stint. Naturally, our first thought was that there had to be some kind of rust on these athletes, right?

Well, if there was any rust, then they certainly didn’t show it at their first meet of the 2021 cross country season.

Last fall, the Wildcats took home the team title at the San Francisco State Invitational. While the competition was admittedly sub-par relative to Chico State's roster talent, the Wildcats placed six athletes in the top-10 and seven men inside the top-12, running away with the title by scoring 24 points.

Brayden McLaughlin finished 2nd place overall and led Chico State as the team's top scorer. He would not surrender that lead-stick role until the national meet. Omar Alvarez-Hernandez was the team's second scorer with Charlie Giannini, Matthew Herrera and Daniel Hernandez rounded out the final three scoring spots in this lineup.

Two weeks later, we saw the Chico State men toe the line at the Cougar Challenge, hosted by Cal State San Marcos, where the Wildcats had their first real challenge of the season.

In a tough team battle, the Wildcats succumbed to a 2nd place finish behind the likes of Pomona-Pitzer, the 2019 Division Three national champions and the eventual 2021 national champions, by just two points.

McLaughlin was solid once again, finishing 2nd overall and leading the way for his team. But it was Herrera who was the only other Wildcat athlete inside the top-10 this time around.

Jack Emanuel was 13th place, Hernandez was two spots back in 15th place and Rory Abberton filled the final scoring spot in 19th place. Both Dylan White and Alvarez-Hernandez were the next two Chico State runners across the line as the team's sixth and seventh runners.

Chico State's overall performance was fine, but it was hardly their best. If they had the same kind of race that they had put together two weeks prior, then we are likely talking about an even stronger showing for the Wildcats.

Ups and downs are a natural part of any cross country season. It’s very rare that you get through a season that is simply headlined by success at the Division Two level. The Stride Report does value consistency in these rankings, but what we also value how teams perform after a lackluster showing.

And what we got from Chico State at the WWU Bill Roe Classic was nothing short of fantastic.

In their regular season finale, the Wildcats opted for a tune-up over 10,000 meters, a distance which they would see later contest in the postseason.

This is where the Wildcats really flashed their true potential on the grass. They scored 31 points and defeated a very solid Western Washington program by 32 points in the process.

McLaughlin continued his strong running, finishing 4th overall and solidifying himself as the top scorer for the Wildcats moving forward. His teammates, Hererra, Hernandez, White and Giannini, followed in 6-8-10-12 with just 31 seconds between them. If you factor-in McLaughlin, then there was just 42 seconds between the five scorers, something that could only be classified as elite team racing.

What we saw during the postseason would also emphasize just how good this team was in 2021 as they were nothing short of dominant in all scoring aspects at both the CCAA XC Championships and the West Regional XC Championships.

Chico State had no problem at the CCAA XC Championships as they rattled off 25 team points en route to their 19th-straight conference title. McLaughlin took home the individual win while holding off top regional rivals such as Vincent Sarino and Shea Vavra.

Teammates Emanuel, White, Abberton and Cameron Duquette rounded out the scoring that day, all finishing inside the top-10. While we already knew how talented those first three men were, it was Duquette who stepped up in a big way, marking yet another Chico State athlete who was capable of delivering valuable scoring when necessary.

Fast forward two weeks later and it was much of the same at the West Regional XC Championships.

McLaughlin finished 3rd behind only this year's TSR #22 (D1) runner Patrick Kiprop, who now runs for Arkansas, and the aforementioned Vavra in a tight finish for the 2nd and 3rd placements.

However, it was Charlie Giannini who emerged as Chico State's second scorer with a huge 7th place finish in what could be considered as a pleasantly surprising performance. Prior to that race, the young(ish) Wildcat distance talent had never been better than the team's third scorer, something which suggested that he was peaking right on time.

Behind Giannini were Herrera and Abberton who were the next two Chico State men across the line in 12th and 13th, respectively. Alvarez-Hernandez was just two seconds behind Abberton in 15th place to give the Wildcats an excellent team score of 47 points.

The next closest team was Fresno Pacific, a respectable group that scored 109 points while boasting the individual winner and the 6th place finisher. And yet, despite that firepower, the Chico State men still dominated.

Leading up to the national meet, there could be arguments that the Wildcats' competition was relatively weaker on their side of the country. However, that suspicion was quickly put to bed (like it is every year) when they toed the line for the NCAA XC Championships.

You have to go all the way back to 2014 to find a Chico State team that finished outside the top-10 at a cross country national meet -- and that was when they finished 14th overall. Since then, the Wildcats have been inside the top-10 of the national stage every single year.

Their worst finish during that time period was a 9th place result in 2017.

And sure enough, they didn’t disappoint in 2021 as they finished 8th overall as a team.

And when we tell you that things could have been much better than just 8th place at the national meet, we’re not exaggerating.

It wasn’t McLaughlin leading the Wildcats this time around, but instead it was Emanuel who finished 24th while securing his second All-American finish on the grass. His result was a massive low-stick scoring boost.

McLaughlin was eight spots back in 32nd place for a top-40 honor of his own. Then it was White with a surprise 37th place finish which gave the Chico State men a stunning combination of three All-Americans and some of the best firepower in the field.

But when you look at their results even further, it makes sense as to why this team could have been even better as far as their backend scoring was concerned.

The Wildcats' fourth scorer was Alvarez-Hernandez who finished 118th overall. Abberton, meanwhile, closed out the team's top-five with a 143rd place finish. Their second scorer from the regional meet, Giannini, placed 174th while Hererra rounded out the team's varsity seven in 183rd place.

If just one of those backend athletes finished inside the top-80 at the NCAA XC Championships, and we think Abberton certainly could have been that guy, then were talking about a drastically different outcome for this team.

* * *

Headed into the 2022 cross country season, the only way that there could better news for the Wildcats would be if they were returning their entire top-seven from last fall.

Instead, they’ll have to just settle for "only" six returners.

The best of those returners, at least on a consistent basis, is likely going to be McLaughlin. He’s fresh off of a successful track season which saw him run 14:16 (5k) and 29:29 (10k). At a young age, he has proven to be capable of leading a powerhouse team and we shouldn’t expect anything different from him in 2022.

McLaughlin should be the clear low-stick for this team, but he may share those duties with veteran returner Jack Emanuel. The long-time Chico State star did lead his team at the NCAA XC Championships last fall and he made sure to build off of that success during his outdoor campaign.

Emanuel lowered his personal bests to 3:55 (1500), 8:23 (3k), 14:08 (5k) and 29:44 (10k) earlier this year. Somehow, neither of his times in the 5k or 10k were good enough for the national meet, but that shouldn’t deter you from believing him in when it comes to this fall.

The veteran All-American has finished 24th (2021) and 30th (2019) in his previous two cross country national meets and he’s on track to rack up another All-American honor here in 2022. When it comes to the postseason, he may be amongst the most clutch runners in Division Two.

White is the next returner for Chico State this fall, but he may be the biggest question mark on this team despite being the third scorer for this team at last year's national meet.

Admittedly, White’s times on the track don’t necessarily stand out on his own team, let alone the rest of the country.

But the end of his 2021 cross country season? Well, it's too good to ignore.

We briefly saw White on the grass in 2019 and when you compare that season to his 2021 campaign, there’s a remarkable improvement.

There's no question that his 37th place finish at the national meet was a surprise, but that could also be a good indicator of what to expect from him in 2022. It's just a matter of whether or not we'll see White produce that kind of result a) more consistently, and b) on the national stage yet again.

Of course, it's not like this guy is a one-race wonder. He was 5th at the CCAA XC Championships before having what could be considered an "off" day at the West Regional XC Championships where he finished 38th.

After those three All-Americans, that leaves us with Alvarez-Hernandez, Abberton and Giannini as the remaining returners from Chico State's 2021 lineup.

As just a freshman, Alvarez-Hernandez was impressive on the grass until the national meet. That underwhelming season finale, however, didn’t stop him from having what we would consider to be a successful year on the track.

Alvarez-Hernandez ran 8:33 (3k), 14:47 (5k) and 31:04 (10k) earlier this year, and while those aren't national-caliber times, those marks still tell us that he’s acclimated well to his collegiate environment.

We should only expect a better version of Alvarez-Hernandez in 2022. At the very least, he should be someone who’s better than what his 118th place national meet from last year suggests.

But for as solid as Alvarez-Hernandez was, we think Rory Abberton could be considered the biggest wildcard for this team as he just earned an All-American finish in the 1500 meters. He’s run 3:44 for that event and while that is a highly impressive mark, his times of 8:21 (3k) and 14:26 (5k) tell us that he’s much more than that.

We’ve already seen him have success on the grass as he finished 42nd at the 2019 NCAA XC Championships. And although he was 143rd at last year's national meet, that should be considered a massive outlier.

In our eyes, when Abberton is at his full potential, he's an All-American talent.

If that suspicion is correct, then Chico State may as well be a lock for the podium.

Giannini had what could be considered a strong season on the grass if you were to omit his race from the Cougar Challenge and obviously the NCAA XC Championships.

After finishing 10th at the CCAA XC Championships and then 7th at the West Regional XC Championships, he was well on his way to what we expected to be a strong showing at the NCAA XC Championships.

That, of course, was not the case.

After his 174th place finish at the NCAA XC Championships, it was confirmed that Giannini had hurt himself during his West regional race and that injury had lingered all the way through the outdoor season.

That was showcased by a sub-par 16:08 (5k) on the track.

We mentioned that Abberton could be the wildcard for this Chico State team in 2022. However, the upside of the Wildcats this fall could be determined by how well Giannini rebounds by the time he reaches the postseason.

If he can be as good as he was at last year's regional meet, then the upside for this team is potentially limitless.

While these returners are going to be the main core of this team in 2022, we can’t forget that there are more than just these six men who will be in the fold of varsity contention.

Josh O’Neill and Cameron Duquette both had solid track seasons where they saw success from 3000 meters to the 10,000 meters. O’Neill ran 14:32 (5k) and 30:19 (10k) while Duquette ran 14:32 (5k) and 30:00 (10k), marks that truly solidified the idea that they’ll be important pieces moving forward for the Wildcats.

We could go on and on about the amount of depth that Chico State has, but we’re running a tad long here. Don’t be surprised if Michael Ramirez, Bennett Woodward, Brian Hastings, Matthew Gordon or Jayden Olea throw their hats into the ring this fall.

All of those men have had successful races on the grass, and despite their track times not being up to par with the rest of the team, there’s bound to be at least a couple of athletes who will make solid improvements with another year of development under their belt.

* * *

The potential of this Chico State team is endless.

They’ve got some of the best depth in the country and there’s simply no denying that. And when we combine that with the consistency that we have seen from Coach Gary Towne’s program over the last decade, it’s going to be incredibly difficult for us to leave this team out of our top-10 week-in and week-out.

The Wildcats are going to return their three All-Americans from last season and you could argue that those three might not even be their best scoring trio when the season is over with.

There's a very realistic chance that they have four All-American when it's said and done!

But White needs to show that he can be an All-American yet again and Abberton needs to show that last year's national meet was a fluke. We also need greater clarity as to how strong their fifth scorer will be.

Still, the potential for elite scoring is way too good to ignore. If all of the pieces on this team come together, then the Wildcats might as well be locks for the podium.