The Chico State women's cross country team has been solid throughout the 2016 campaign, chalking up a win and two top five finishes in its three regular season meets. The Wildcats have used these successes to build towards postseason competition, and Saturday Head Coach Gary Towne's squad is hoping that a victory in Saturday's California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Cross Country Championships will be the first step towards vying for a national title.
 
The conference meet, hosted by Cal Poly Pomona, takes place at Cucamonga-Guasti Regional Park in Ontario. The men kick off the competition at 10 a.m. with an 8k run, with the women's 6k race beginning at 11 a.m.
 
The Chico State women will try to keep the program's impressive streak of CCAA cross country championships alive. The Wildcats have won eight straight conference titles and 12 in the last 14 years.
 
McCall Habermehl returns to defend last year's individual cross country title, and she'll be joined by All-CCAA runners Sadie Gastelum (the runner-up to Habermehl in 2015), Alex Burkhart, Camila Turati and Haley Kroll. Five other talented Wildcat runners – Kayden Carpenter, Hannah Dorman, Karlie Garcia, Desirae Jones and Nora Pizzella – round out the Chico State roster.
 
The Chico State women enter Saturday's conference championship ranked No. 9 in Division II and No. 2 in the West Region.
 
Several CCAA teams are angling to wrestle away the conference crown and provide the Wildcats with some stiff competition. UC San Diego – last year's CCAA runner-up – is ranked 24th in the nation and No. 6 in the West Region, while Humboldt State and host Cal Poly Pomona ranked ninth and 10th, respectively, in the West Region.
 
Chico State runners have captured four of the last six individual women's titles heading into Saturday. Kara Lubieniecki won the top prize in 2010, followed by Alia Gray (2011), Ayla Granados (2013) and Habermehl last year.    
 
The Schedule:
Saturday, Oct. 22
Men's 8k: 10 a.m.
Women's 6k: 11 a.m.
Awards ceremony: 12 p.m.
Forecast: Mostly sunny, 71 degrees; Wind: ESE 4 mph
 
The Course:
Site: Cucamonga-Ghasti Regional Park, Ontario
Terrain: The course consists of a 2,000-meter loop consisting of a lower (southern) grass section and an upper (northern) dirt section. Each loop has a 30-yard section of asphalt. The asphalt section is a road crossing which divides the upper dirt second from the lower grass section. The starting and finishing areas are on the lower grass section. 
A Look From Above: Check out the overhead picture of the course by CLICKING HERE.
 
Live Results Link:
http://www.finishedresults.com/
 
The Field:
Chico State – Ranked #9 Nationally, #2 Regionally
UC San Diego – Ranked #24 Nationally, #6 Regionally
Cal Poly Pomona – Ranked #10 Regionally
Humboldt State – Ranked #9 Regionally
Cal State East Bay
Cal State L.A.
Cal State Monterey Bay
Cal State San Bernardino
Cal State San Marcos
San Francisco State
Sonoma State
Stanislaus State
 
Chico State Roster:
Sadie Gastelum (two-time All-CCAA and All-West Region; 2015 All-America)
McCall Habermehl (2015 CCAA Runner of the Year and All-West Region; two-time All-CCAA)
Alex Burkhart (2014 All-CCAA and All-West Region)
Camila Turati (2014 CCAA Freshman of the Year; All-CCAA and All-West Region)
Haley Kroll (2013 CCAA Newcomer of the Year; All-CCAA)
Kayden Carpenter
Hannah Dorman
Karlie Garcia
Desirae Jones
Nora Pizzella