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Chico State once again the school to beat in Saturday's CCAA Cross Country Championships
Kara Lubieniecki (L) and Beau Gradone-Rogers attempt to match last year's top 10 efforts Saturday in the CCAA Cross Country Championships.
10/21/2009 4:23:57 PM
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. – The California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Cross Country Championships will be taking place Saturday at Beau Pre Golf Course in McKinleyville, and the nationally-ranked Chico State men’s and women’s cross country teams are looking to add another lofty achievement to an already successful 2009 season, while continuing the school’s long stretch of conference dominance.
The Wildcats come into the Cross Country Championships, hosted this year by Humboldt State, as the defending champion in both the men’s and women’s events after capturing the 2008 CCAA crowns in San Bernardino.
The Chico State men, ranked third in the nation and No. 1 in the West Region, will be shooting for their ninth consecutive conference championship. Brendan Scanlon will attempt to match or better last year’s performance, when he finished second to Wildcat teammate Scott Bauhs. Several other Wildcat runners, including Jimmy Elam (three top ten finishes this season), Michael Wickman and Beau Gradone-Rogers (each with two top 10 efforts in ’09), will be taking their shot at winning the CCAA’s individual championship.
The Chico State women’s team enters the event with the No. 1 ranking in the nation, and has won five of the last seven CCAA cross country championships. Among the Wildcats competing for the individual title are Kara Lubieniecki and Alia Gray (both with a pair of top 10 finishes on the year), and four top 15 finishers from last year’s conference championships: Tori Tyler, Stephanie Consiglio, Shannon Rich and Colleen Joyce.
The women’s 6-kilometer race is scheduled to start at 9:00 a.m. Saturday, with the men’s 8-kilometer run slated to begin at 9:45 a.m.
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Wildcats of the Week
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Women's Basketball
For much of the season, redshirt freshman Caressa Williams has been sitting at the end of the Chico State women’s basketball team bench, seeing very little on-court action. But the former Paradise High School star continued to work hard on her game, and the extra effort has paid off in recent weeks with significantly more playing time. After a string of short but impressive relief roles, Williams delivered a breakout performance Saturday against Humboldt State, posting career highs in scoring and rebounding in the Wildcats’ 90-67 thumping of Humboldt State. Her strongest effort to date makes Williams the latest Wildcat of the Week.
Williams shot over 58 percent (7-of-12), averaging just under 10 points and five rebounds in Chico State’s two weekend contests. She began the weekend with a solid outing Friday against Sonoma State, contributing five points, two rebounds, one assist and two steals in 16 minutes of action. Saturday, though, she was a major part of the Wildcat reserves combining to score 51 in the team’s convincing 23-point win over Humboldt. Williams played 24 minutes, scoring 14 points and hauling in seven rebounds – both career highs – connecting on five of her seven field goal attempts. She also chipped in with an assist and a steal in addition to shining on the defensive end.
Williams’ productive weekend saw her season scoring average more than double, rising from 1.6 to 3.6 points per game. Overall, she is shooting 50 percent from the field and is averaging two rebounds a contest.
Chico State is back in action this weekend, hosting Cal Poly Pomona Friday and San Francisco State Saturday at Acker Gym. Both games are scheduled to tipoff at 5:30 p.m.
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Men's Basketball
Amir Carraway capped a strong weekend with team highs of 16 points and seven rebounds in the Wildcats’ huge win against Humboldt State Saturday night to earn Wildcat of the Week honors for the second time this season.
The sophomore from Vallejo made two game-sealing free throws with 21 seconds left to finish the night 6-of-7 from the free throw line and pulled down key rebounds on two of the Lumberjacks’ last three possessions. He also set the screen on Jay Flores’ dagger 3-pointer with 40 seconds left.
Carraway finished with 10 points and four rebounds despite playing just 18 minutes due to foul trouble during the Wildcats’ loss to Sonoma State the night before.
The 6-foot-5 forward leads the team in rebounding at 5.5 per game and ranks second in scoring at 10.6 points per game a season after averaging just 1.4 points and one rebound in only 5.4 minutes a night. He’s now led the team in scoring five times and rebounding six this season.
Carraway and the Wildcats, among four teams tied for second in the California Collegiate Athletic Association standings, trail conference co-leaders Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State Dominguez Hills by just one game. They’ll welcome Cal Poly Pomona to town Friday night and San Francisco State Saturday.
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1.23.12 | General
The Chico State women’s soccer team and cross country programs will be honored for their runs in this fall’s NCAA Championships during halftime of Friday night’s men’s basketball game against rival Sonoma State. The game is scheduled to tipoff at 7:30.
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1.12.12 | General
HOUSTON – Three Chico State distance running alumni will be competing for a spot in the Olympics at Saturday’s United States Olympic Marathon trials. Yes, the Olympics. Charlie Serrano and Tim Tollefson will compete in the men’s race, beginning at 6 a.m., PST, and Tollefson’s fiancé, Lindsay Nelson, will run in the women’s race that’s set to go off at 6:15. Then on Sunday, Scott Bauhs (whose sites are set on the June 22nd 10,000-meter Olympic qualifier) will go after the title in the Houston Half Marathon.
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12.8.11 | General
While the leaves have been falling in the City of Trees, the citiy's University, Chico State, has been rising toward the top of the list of the nation’s best NCAA Division II athletic programs. The Wildcats finished the fall ranked second in the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup fall standings, released Thursday.
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11.19.11 | Women's Cross Country
SPOKANE, Wash. – Freezing temperatures and falling snow made for a brutally cold day at the 2011 NCAA Women’s Cross Country Championships Saturday in Spokane, Wash. So the Chico State women decided to snuggle up during the race. Now the Wildcats are all feeling warm and cozy inside following a seventh-place finish. Alia Gray eventually broke away and came in 38th and a five-pack of ’Cats followed, all finishing between 52nd and 61st over a 12-second span, providing the program with its fifth straight top-seven finish and 10th straight top 10 at the national championships.
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11.19.11 | General
The track my be snowy but the picture should be clear if you click on NCAA.com to watch the Chico State cross country teams run at the 2011 NCAA Championships today in Spokane, Wash. The women run at 11 a.m. and the men at noon.
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11.17.11 | Women's Cross Country
SPOKANE, Wash. – A Gray day would be a beautiful one for the Chico State women’s cross country team Saturday. The Wildcats hope to parlay a strong run by senior standout Alia Gray into a super showing at the NCAA Championships at the Plantes Ferry Sports Complex in Spokane, Wash. The gun goes off at 11 a.m.
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11.7.11 | General
Katie Spencer has turned in one solid run after another in her final season as a member of the Chico State women’s cross country team. The senior from Redlands has posted four top 15 finishes this fall, and was named All-California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) for the second straight year. But Saturday in Spokane, Wash., Spencer added another impressive performance to her ever-growing resume, finishing in 14th place at the NCAA West Regional Championships. Spencer’s outstanding effort makes her the latest Wildcat of the Week.
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