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.

The Wildcats certainly won’t experience sublime weather. Saturday’s forecast calls for a low of 10 degrees and a high of just 24. But they’ll attempt to burn up the six-kilometer track and finish much lower than the forecasted low. The Wildcats have finished ninth or better at the NCAA Championships 10 years running and among the top six seven of the past nine seasons. They are making their 12th straight NCAA Championship appearance and 14th overall.

Streaming coverage of the race will be available at NCAA.com for free. Links to the actual webcast will likely be posted on NCAA.com a few hours before start time.

This year’s Chico State squad enters the race ranked No. 7 in the nation after winning three race titles this season, including the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) title, and finishing second at the NCAA Championship West Regional. The Wildcats are hoping to avenge their loss to 5th-ranked Alaska Anchorage in Regional Championships by finishing higher than the Seawolves Saturday.

Gray, a two-time All-American who finished ninth at the NCAA 10,000-meter Championship on the track in May, would certainly bolster the Wildcats’ chances with a solid finish. She’s a strong candidate for her second Cross Country All-America honor, awarded to Saturday’s top 40 finishers. She finished 34th in the championships as a sophomore in 2009 before missing last season’s event due to an injury. With a very good day, she might even challenge Julie Symonds’ 14th-place finish from 1979, which remains the best in school history.

A race like that would certainly help if the Wildcats plan to rival last season’s fifth-place finish, in which all five Chico State scorers crossed the line among the first 54.

On paper, the team has the potential to do something special. Athlete bios are below, followed by a brief overall race preview and Chico State’s history at the NCAA Championships.


Alia Gray – Sr. – Santa Rosa

• 2011 XC All-Region (Finished 5^th)
• 2011 XC CCAA Champion
• Three-time winner in 2011 (Humboldt Invitational, Willamette Invitational and CCAA Championships)
• First Wildcat across the line in every one of her races this season.
• 2009 XC All-American (Finished 34th)
• 2009 XC All-West Region (Finished 13th)
• 2009 XC All-CCAA (Finished 4th)
• 2008 XC All-West Region (Finished 12th)
• 2008 XC All-CCAA (Finished 6th)
• 2011 T&F All-CCAA (Champion in the 5K)
• 2009 T&F All-American (Finished 6th in 10K)
• 2009 T&F All-CCAA (Finished 3rd in 5K)
• 2009, 2010 and 2011 USTFCCA All-Academic Team
• 2009, 2010 and 2011 CCAA All-Academic Team
• 2010 and 2011 Division II Athletic Directors Association Academic Achievement Award
• 2010 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District

 
Tiffany Heflin – Fr. – Janesville

• 2011 XC CCAA Freshman of the Year
• 2011 XC All-CCAA (Finished 12^th)
• Finished 49^th at NCAA West Regionals

 
Paige Henker – Jr. – Chico

• 2011 XC All-West Region (Finished 21^st)
• 2010 XC All-CCAA (Finished 13th)
• 2009 XC All-CCAA (Finished 14th)
• 2010 and 2011 CCAA All-Academic Team
• 2010 and 2011 USTFCCA All-Academic Team
• 2011 Division II Athletic Directors Association Academic Achievement Award

 
Shannon Rich – Sr. – Rancho Cotate

• 2011 XC All-West Region (Finished 20^th)
• 2011 XC All-CCAA (Finished 10^th)
• 2010 XC All-American (Finished 37th)
• 2010 XC All-CCAA (Finished 5th)
• 2009 XC All-CCAA (Finished 8th)
• 2008 XC All-CCAA (Finished 9th)
• 2011 T&F All-CCAA (Finished 2nd in the 10K)
• 2010 T&F All-CCAA (Finished 2nd in the 10K)
• 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 CCAA All-Academic Award
• 2009, 2010 and 2011 USTFCCCA All-Academic Team
• 2010 and 2011 Division II Athletic Directors Association Academic Achievement Award
• 2010-11 Chico State/Richard Dahl Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Amy Schnittger – Jr. – Aptos

• 2011 XC All-West Region (Finished 9^th)
• 2011 XC All-CCAA (Finished 3^rd)
• Second Wildcat across the line in every one of her races this season.
• 2010 XC All-CCAA (Finished 7th)
• 2011 T&F All-West Region (Steeplechase)
• 2011 T&F All-CCAA (Champion in the Steeplechase
• 2010 T&F All-CCAA (3rd in Steeplechase)

Katie Spencer – Sr. – Redlands

• 2011 XC All-Region (Finished 14^th)
• 2011 XC All-CCAA (Finished 11^th)
• Third Wildcat across the line in all but one race this season. Fourth in the other.
• 2010 XC All-CCAA (Finished 8th)

 
Jonah Weeks – Jr. – Davis

• 2011 XC All-Regionn (Finished 24^th)
• Finished 19^th at the CCAA Championships
• 2010 XC All-Region (Finished 9th)
• 2010 XC All-CCAA (Finished 3rd)
• 2009 XC All-CCAA (Finished 13th)
• 2009 CCAA Newcomer of the Year
• 2011 USTFCCCA All-Academic
• 2010 and 2011 CCAA All-Academic
• 2010 and 2011 Division II Athletic Directors Association of America Academic Achievement Award

 
Race Overview
Grand Valley State, ranked No. 2 in the nation, is the defending NCAA Champion. The Lakers ended a seven-year title run by Adams State last season. But Western State is the team that’s ranked No. 1 heading into this year’s race. Adams State is ranked No. 3, Alaska Anchorage is No. 4, Augstana College No. 5, University of Mary No. 6, Chico State No. 7, and Shippensburg No. 8.
 
Neely Spence of Shippensburg, the defending individual champion, is the favorite in the women’s race. She is one of four women who finished among the top 10 back this season. Lauren Kleppin of Western State (third last year), Morgan Place of Minnesota Duluth was fifth and Alaska Anchorage’s Ruth Keino seventh.
 
Chico State's History at the NCAA Championships
2010: 5^th
2009: 6^th
2008: 7^th
2007: 4^th
2006: 9^th
2005: 4^th
2004: 6^th
2003: 4^th
2002: 5^th
2001: 18^th
2000: 9^th
1998: 16^th
1997: 17^th