SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The wave said it all.
As Scott Bauhs sauntered toward the finish of his 2008 NCAA Division II Cross Country title Saturday in Butler, Pa., he waved. He was waving because he could. His domination of the competition was so complete that all of his potential rivals were soundly beaten and far off in the distance by the end of the race. He was waving hello to the beautiful finish line that he had been dreaming about since finishing third at these championships four years ago. He was waving hello to Chico State’s first individual cross country national title and his third individual national title. He was waving goodbye to a collegiate career that will certainly go down as the greatest in Chico State’s history, and possibly the greatest in the history of Division II. He was waving hello to a professional career that now begins as he graduates this semester.
“I was just really happy that it was happening,” said Bauhs. “I knew it was over at that point and I just started celebrating. I had a perfect season. That’s what I wanted to do coming into the season and to have it come to fruition is really special. It’s been a really memorable experience at Chico and this is a great way to finish it.”
Bauhs’ effort helped propel the Chico State men to a third-place finish, which matches the 2005 and 1969 squads for the best in the history of the program. The Chico State women finished seventh behind Tori Tyler’s courageous 16th-place effort for their eighth top-10 finish in the last nine years.
“I’m so proud of both teams,” said Wildcats Head Coach Gary Towne. “It’s an honor to coach these amazingly-determined student-athletes. Today was a great day. It was cold, but it was a great day. For us to run well in the snow and cold when we really don’t get a chance to train in these elements like a lot of other teams do is a real tribute to the poise and composure of our athletes.”
The races were run with temperatures in the mid-20s, wind gusts of up to 17 miles-per-hour, and snow on the ground. The women’s race was even met with some snow flurries. The weather did not seem to affect Bauhs or his teammates, though. Bauhs blazed to the top of the hill about 800 meters from the start line and led the 10,000-meter race from start to finish. He left Harding’s Daniel Kirwa, believed to be his toughest competition going into the race, within the first two miles. From that point, last year’s NCAA Championship runner-up Aaron Braun was his nearest competition, and Bauhs methodically left him behind.
“I didn’t plan on taking the lead when I did, but I also planned on Kirwa being my toughest competition,” said Bauhs. “Once I gapped him a little I wanted to get as much space on him as possible. Then, at around two miles, I realized he had fallen off pretty hard. Racing Aaron Braun was much different than racing Kirwa. I really felt like the only way Kirwa was going to beat me was if I let him get a big lead. But Braun’s got some wheels so I knew I didn’t want it to come down to a sprint, so I just kept pressing the whole race. I was just trying to keep pushing myself to stay focused on getting to the next mile marker, to the top of the next hill, to the bottom of the hill after that.”
That strategy, poise, and ability got Bauhs into the Chico State history books as the Wildcats’ first ever cross country national champion.
“This is pretty sweet,” said a giddy Towne following the race. “For Scott to win the national title in his last race is definitely a sweet moment.”
Bauhs won the 10,000-meter national title as a sophomore and the 5,000-meter national title this spring as a junior. He may have saved his best for last.
“The cross country race means so much more to me than a track race,” said Bauhs. “I’ve always loved cross country even though I might even be better on the track. I just love what cross country stands for. There’s so much you can’t predict in a race like this. This was definitely the farthest thing from a track race and I’m gad I was able to win it.”
Meanwhile, many of Bauhs’ teammates were also putting together the best races of their cross country careers. Angel Marquez (23rd place), Michael Wickman (32nd), and Beau Rogers (35th) joined Bauhs as All-Americans, while Brendan Scanlon battled a balky hamstring sustained at the West Regional Championships and finished 53rd.
“Wickman ran a heck of a race,” said Towne. “Beau Rogers did as well. He is the only person out of our group who had never run in an NCAA Championship before, so for him to go out and put together the race he did was really big. Angel has always had more success on the track, but he’s worked so hard to try and turn himself into a good cross country runner so I was really happy for him to go out there today and finish in the top 25. It was the culmination of a lot of hard work.”
Scanlon’s effort was equally important to the third-place finish. The sophomore had high hopes this season after finishing 20th at last year’s National Championships, but he suffered a hamstring injury when the West Regional Championship was re-started following a mishap by race officials.
“He was the one guy who really suffered from that regional fiasco,” said Towne. “His hamstring didn’t have time to heal and I think the conditions here made it especially tough. But he gave all he had today and his effort was enough to put us up into the top three in what I think was one of the best fields in the history of this race.”
While a healthy Scanlon may have given the Wildcats a chance to finish in the top two, his toughness ensured that the Wildcats, ranked No. 4 in the nation entering the race, a top-three finish. Team champion Adams State finished with 67 points, Western State had 88, Chico State had 120, and defending-champion Abilene Christian finished fourth with 128. The Wildcats have now finished in the nation’s top 10 for 10 straight seasons and finished among the top four in five of the last six years.
Bauhs’ goodbye to collegiate running preceded a chance for the Chico State women to make an impressive introduction to the collegiate cross country community. Five of the team’s seven individuals were running in their first NCAA Championship cross country race.
Tyler’s 16th-place finish was the fourth best in the program’s history and earned the junior All-America status in her first NCAA Championship race. Sophomore Kara Lubieniecki, who finished 81st at last year’s National Championships, finished 43rd. Freshman Alia Gray finished 69th. The team’s lone senior, Kayla Silva, finished 87th. Freshman Stephanie Consiglio was 95th, sophomore Shannon McVannel was 99th, and freshman Shannon Rich was 104th in the field of 189 runners.
Just 58 points separated the Wildcats from a top-three finish. Adams State won its 14th title in the last 17 years with 79 points while runner-up Grand Valley State finished with 102. Western State’s 183 was good for third. Seattle Pacific, which the Wildcats beat at the recent West Regional, finished a surprising fourth.
“It was sort of a mixed bag of emotions for the women,” said Towne. “I know they are capable of more and they do to. But being in the National Championship environment for the first time in this kind of weather was a tough challenge. The fact that SPU finished fourth and we’ve beaten them this year was a little tough to swallow, but it also showed us what we’re capable of.”
Tyler certainly may have been capable of more, but she ran into some trouble early in the race.
“She didn’t really get a great start, but she moved up well in the second mile,” said Towne. “I don’t know what happened after that. I think she may have fallen out there. She was running with a big pack of women from the West Region who she beat at regionals and the she came out of this short loop and she was well behind them.”
Tyler made up the lost time before the finish, but the extra energy she had to expend cost her dearly near the finish where she was passed by a number of runners. She collapsed after crossing the finish line and was treated for health symptoms related to the extremely cold weather.
Towne was also pleased with the efforts of Silva, who was seeing her first action of the year following a summer bike accident.
Lubieniecki and McVannell, who have run consistently well this season, were victims of an overly-aggressive start.
“We had talked about needing to get out fast and establish position because of the course conditions. It’s difficult to move your way up on a difficult course like this,” said Towne. “But Kara and Shannon went out a little too aggressively and were basically leading the pack up the first hill. They women ran solid races and they hung in there, but it wasn’t quite the day we were hoping it would be for many of them.”
Men's Results
Women's Results