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TSR's 2023 Preseason D2 XC Top 25 Rankings (Men): #7 Chico State Wildcats
- Grace McLaughlin
- Sep 8, 2023
- 7 min read
Written by Grace McLaughlin, edits & additional commentary by Gavin Struve & Garrett Zatlin
NOTE: Earlier this summer, The Stride Report reached out to nearly every team that was considered for a possible ranking this summer. While we did receive numerous responses and great clarity, we did not get a 100% response rate. On rare occasions, we are referencing TFFRS in order to talk about returners and athletes who are out of eligibility.
In a world with Division Two powerhouse programs crowding the RMAC and the midwest region, it can be easy to forget about the consistent juggernaut that is the Chico State men.
We foresee this team potentially taking a minor step back this fall, but largely occupying the same tier that they resided in throughout 2022. Despite Chico State losing some key members from last year’s squad, we are confident that the Wildcats will be able to pull together enough talent and depth from this roster.
The last time that the Wildcats were not in the top-10 at the cross country national meet was nearly 10 years ago in 2014. Their highest finish at the national meet in the past decade was their bronze medal performance back in 2019.
With consistent success and reliable development of athletes under Coach Gary Towne, we believe that the Wildcats are wholly capable of yet another top-10 finish this year despite the departure of some heavy hitters from the program.
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Last fall, Chico State opened up their season with a statement win at the Cougar Challenge. The Wildcats scored 32 points and had just a 19-second gap between their five scorers. Jack Emanuel led the way with his runner-up finish and was followed by Omar Alvarez-Hernandez in 5th, Rory Abberton in 7th, Brayden McLaughlin in 8th and Daniel Hernandez in 10th.
This was a solid start to the season for the Wildcats and it offered insight as to who the core scorers of this team would be throughout the rest of the season. Of course, we would need to see additional results to truly understand the scoring structure of this lineup.
Chico State then followed up their first win with an even more impressive victory at the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational where they scored just 54 points against Division One opposition.
Alvarez-Hernandez crossed the with a pleasantly surprising 3rd place finish while Emanuel joined him in the top-10 with his 7th place finish. That was already better firepower than we were expecting to see from the Wildcats in this specific field.
Behind that duo, McLaughlin (16th), Abberton (18th) and Hernandez (19th) rounded out the team's scoring with a performance that validated Chico State’s depth and pack-running tactics as a force to be reckoned with.
The Wildcats then toed the line against some top Division Two competition at D2 Pre-Nationals. Their runner-up finish behind a virtually-unbeatable Colorado Mines team was impressive, and the Wildcats gained momentum as they entered the championship season.
Abberton took over as the team’s top runner with his 10th place finish, but Emanuel was close behind in 11th. Alvarez-Hernandez (16th), McLaughlin (22nd) and Hernandez (26th) rounded out the scorers to, yet again, give Chico State a commendable and complete top-five.
Teammates Cameron Duquette (43rd), Joshua O’Neill (72nd) and Bennett Woodward (82nd) also raced for the Wildcats.
As they ventured into the postseason, the identity of Chico State's scoring group was beginning to take form. Jack Emanuel was the constant lead talent, but there were also moments where certain men would have unexpectedly great days. And through five men, there weren't any significant drop-offs.
Chico State easily took home the CCAA XC Championships title with just 20 points after putting six men in the top-10. Abberton won the race, Emanuel was the runner-up and Duquette and McLaughlin rounded out the top-five in 4th and 5th place, respectively. Alvarez-Hernandez (8th), Hernandez (9th), O’Neill (17th) and Woodward (20th) were also in the top-20.
At the West Regional XC Championships, Chico State continued their winning streak thanks to six Wildcat men in the top-20. The postseason (specifically at the conference and regional levels) was a breeze for this west coast distance program as it historically has been.
Heading into the NCAA XC Championships, the Wildcats appeared to be a top-five program -- and they lived up to that expectation. Their 5th place finish at the national meet was led by Abberton’s 25th place All-American performance, a result that played into the constantly evolving lead role of Chico State's lineup.
Duquette stepped up in a big way for the Wildcats and was their second runner in 46th place. McLaughlin didn’t have his best day and finished 72nd overall, although he likely could have been better given that he placed 32nd at the 2021 NCAA XC Championships. Emanuel (76th), Hernandez (100th), O’Neill (118th) and Alvarez-Hernandez (144th) rounded out the lineup with performances that were good, but in certain spots, had the potential to be better.
Alvarez-Hernandez had an "off" day, but Duquette’s strong performance balanced that out and helped the Wildcats finish on par with expectations.
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Heading into this fall, Chico State will be without Abberton, Duquette and Emanuel who all graduated from their 2022 lineup. Not having that trio will present a major challenge for the Wildcats who always seemed to have a low-stick in each meet. And if their history of success wasn't as strong as it is, then we're not sure where this team would be ranked.
Luckily, Chico State has some strong returners who can step up.
Juniors Brayden McLaughlin and Omar Alvarez-Hernandez — who are both listed just outside of our top-25 individual preseason rankings — will lead the Wildcats this fall and both are experienced veterans. Neither had their best day at the 2022 NCAA XC Championships last December, but when firing on all cylinders, they give Chico State a strong front-running duo.
Remember, McLaughlin has been a proven All-American ace before and Alvarez-Hernandez placed as high as 3rd at the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational. This duo will need to run at their best on a more consistent basis, but we at least know that they have the talent to be top-40 runners on the national stage.
Daniel Hernandez also returns after a solid season last fall. Joshua O’Neill was in Chico State’s lineup for the latter half of the 2022 season and showed solid progression with each race. Those two men give the Wildcats reliable third and fourth runners with valuable experience in hand.
Hernandez was super consistent last fall and offers important lineup stability for a top-seven that will feature new personnel. O'Neill, meanwhile, isn't as proven on the grass, but ran 14:24 for 5000 meters back in May. He seems to be on a trajectory where he can emerge as a legitimate impact scorer for this team and an improved version of himself from 2022.
Bennett Woodward was consistently the Wildcats’ eighth runner last fall and should be able to slide into the backend of the lineup and make up for some of the losses.
However, potentially the biggest wildcard on this Chico State squad is a name who we didn’t see last fall. Junior Dylan White did not compete in the fall of 2022, but he was an All-American back in the fall of 2021 with a 37th place finish on the national stage.
For a team that is losing a ton of firepower, White's potential return to this lineup could be massive. If this veteran can return to his 2021 fitness, then his presence will be a game-changer for the Wildcats’ scoring potency.
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One of the harder things to analyze when it comes to Chico State is their lack of results on the track. Like most California schools, Chico State does not participate in indoor track and their results from the outdoor track season were limited.
The Wildcats didn’t send a single guy to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Also, McLaughlin and Alvarez-Hernandez did not compete in a single race in the spring.
Woodward ran a seasonal best of 3:54 for 1500 meters, which was decent, but that doesn't give us much to go off of considering that we’re mostly gauging his potential in a cross country race over 10,000 meters.
White returned to competition after not racing in the fall and ran PRs of 3:55 (1500) and 14:45 (5k) at the Bryan Clay Invitational, as well as 30:51 (10k) at the Mike Fanelli Track Classic. That at least shows us that he should be relatively fit after missing over a year of action.
Hernandez ran similar marks of 3:56 (1500) at Bryan Clay and 14:41 (5k) at the Mike Fanelli Track Classic, as well as 9:15 in the steeplechase at the CCAA Outdoor Championships.
Of course, as we already mentioned, the biggest result on the track was O’Neill’s PR of 14:24 over 5000 meters at the APU Franson Last Chance Meet. Again, that is a promising improvement which indicates that he can step up to fill the holes in the Wildcats' lineup over the next few months.
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Overall, the Wildcats have a solid group of experienced men returning. They may not have an elite low-stick superstar, but it's fairly realistic to think that McLaughlin, Alvarez-Hernandez and White could be All-Americans come November.
On top of that talented trio and their other experienced returners, Chico State historically brings in strong recruiting classes and should have some redshirt freshmen, or true freshmen, to aid their overall depth.
Losing three scorers is detrimental, and maybe a TSR #7 preseason ranking is giving Chico State too much benefit of the doubt after narrowly missing the podium last year. Then again, Coach Gary Towne has proven again and again that he can build a top-10 team -- and we don’t see that streak ending anytime soon.
The Wildcats may have lost pieces of their foundation, but the program’s roots run deep. Their ability to rise to the occasion should not be underestimated. With enough proven talent returning, it seems foolish to expect any significant drop-off for the Chico State men.
