TSR's "If Everything Was Normal" D2 XC Top 10 Teams (Women): #6 Chico State Wildcats

Being slotted just one spot ahead of where they finished at last year's national meet, the Wildcats from Chico, California check into our rankings at TSR #6.

Surprisingly, Chico State did not place anyone in the top-40 at last year's NCAA Championships, but had an astonishingly tight time spread which was just under 25 seconds.

However, the Wildcats lose three runners from last year's squad which competed at the NCAA Championships, leaving Chico State without the scoring services of Nora Pizzella, Talia Swangler and Desirae Jones.

* * *

Two freshmen from last year who are now sophomores, Destiny Everett and Gracie Dupuis, proved to be major contributors for this team throughout last fall. Their impact started at the first big meet of the season, the Capital Cross Challenge, which is essentially Pre-Nationals for Division II schools.

Finishing as Chico’s second (Everett) and fifth scorers (Dupuis), the Wildcat newcomers led their team to a 5th place finish where they were the second D2 school in the race, finishing behind only Colorado Mines.

Later in the season, at the CCAA Championships, Everett won her first collegiate race while Dupuis took bronze. Their efforts helped the Wildcats claim their 12th straight CCAA title.

Together, Everett and Dupuis look like a legitimate 1-2 punch who can bring some high-level scoring to this program. Admittedly, the need for an All-American presence at the national meet will be important if this team wants to continue to compete with the top squads in the country. That, however, seemed entirely realistic for this duo before the 2020 national meet was cancelled.

* * *

We then have senior Haley Boynton who returns with something to prove. She was having a much-improved junior season until the NCAA meet where she finished a disappointing 192nd place overall.

Starting at the Western Washington XC Classic and going until the NCAA meet, she had her three best meets of the season. Normally, the sixth or seventh runner for Chico State, she emerged as a scorer at the Western Washington Invite as well as the CCAA Championships.

With plenty of time to train, Boynton will likely extend her already strong progress and become a key scorer for the Wildcats when competition returns. She could be a major X-factor for this team whenever she next toes the line.

Now a junior, Taylor Bailey-Lustyan is the final returner from last year’s team who held her own in her first full season of competition last fall (which included postseason racing).

Progressively gaining more exposure and confidence with each meet, Bailey-Lustyan ended up placing 15th at the CCAA Championships and 31st at the West regional meet. You could see that she had made a significant leap in fitness after shaving a minute off of her 6k personal best time at the West regional meet.

By showing up when she was needed the most, the Wildcat runner emerged as a scorer for the first time last season at the NCAA Championships by placing 103rd overall. After running a personal best of 17:48 in the 5000 meters, we think the progression is there for her to fill any gaps within this Chico State lineup.

* * *

There are a few more women who could factor into the scoring for Chico State.

The first being Carrie McDonough, a redshirt sophomore, who finished 14th at the CCAA Championships. This effort earned her the "Newcomer of the Year" award which paired nicely with her 29th place finish at the quietly loaded Western Washington Cross Country Classic. She didn't run at the NCAA Championships, but we like to think that she could have been just as impactful as a few of her teammates were in Sacramento.

Two more names to watch are Jalen Burns and Katie Hawley, two runners who were on the outside looking in when it came to this Chico State varsity lineup. At the very least, they give Coach Gary Towne a few more options to choose from when crafting his varsity lineup.

* * *

Admittedly, the loss of three veteran scorers would be a pretty big loss for most teams. However, this is Chico State, a historically dominant west coast program which has built a reputation around incredible depth and consistent athlete improvement.

We like to think that won't change whenever competition returns.

With a group of established scorers, as well as some runners moving up from the non-varsity ranks, Chico State should once again be featured as the top team in California.