Chico State Athletics - Wildcats garner sixth straight top-25 finish in Directors' Cup

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Wildcats garner sixth straight top-25 finish in Directors' Cup

6/29/2009 3:43:09 PM

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Chico State athletic department has notched another year among the nation’s top Division II athletic programs. The Wildcats logged their sixth straight top-25 finish in the Learfield Directors’ Cup standings, coming in 22nd in the 2008-09 campaign. The prestigious award is presented annually by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), Learfield Sports and USA Today to the best overall collegiate athletics programs in the country in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III and the NAIA.

“I’m very proud of our entire athletic department for another outstanding year,” said Chico State Athletic Director Anita Barker. “Once again we have proved that our department is not only one of the strongest in the West Region, but also one of the strongest in the nation.”

Division II powerhouse Grand Valley State (Michigan) claimed the title for the sixth straight season with 1,014.5 points. The Lakers were followed in the standings by Minnesota State Mankato, Central Missouri, Abilene Christian (Tex.) and Indianapolis (Ind.).

UC San Diego, which scored 587 points and finished seventh, was the lone California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) school to finish ahead of the Wildcats, who tallied 442 points.

Scott Bauhs breaks the tape at the 2008 NCAA Cross Country Championships.

Scott Bauhs crosses the line for his national cross country title.

Seven of Chico State’s 13 intercollegiate athletic programs advanced to the NCAA Championships. The men’s cross country team finished third in the nation and garnered 85 points behind Scott Bauhs’ individual national title. The women’s cross country team finished seventh and garnered 69. The women’s golf team earned 64.5 points for its 12th-place showing, while the men’ s team finished 21st and earned 51.5 The men’s track team scored 69 points for finishing ninth in the nation as Michael Wickman brought home a pair of third-place individual trophies. The women’s track team scored 53 points for coming in 21st. The Chico State volleyball team made its third straight appearance in the NCAA Championships, garnering a 17th place finish and 50 points.

Since joining the CCAA for the 1998-99 athletic campaign, the Wildcats have grown into one of the strongest Division II athletic programs in the nation. They earned their first top-20 finish by finishing 17th in 2001-02, and followed that up with finishes of 28th, fifth, third, eighth, 17th, 25th, and 22nd, respectively.

Over 280 institutions participate in NCAA Division II athletics.

Chico State Athletics – A Decade-Plus of Dominance...
79 NCAA Championship berths
32 CCAA titles
21 West Region titles
13 National titles
Seven top-25 Directors’ Cup finishes
...Since joining the CCAA in 1998-99.

Feb

March 2010

Apr

Mon, Mar. 22, 2010

Women's Golf
vs InterWest Chico State Invitational

Men's Golf
at Notre Dame de Namur Invitational
TBA

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Wildcats of the Week

Adam Arakawa

Baseball

Chico State right fielder Adam Arakawa continued his torrid start to 2010 with four more multi-hit games, finishing 9-for-15, to lead the Wildcats to a series split a four-game series at Cal State San Bernardino over the weekend. The CCAA Player of the Week one week ago, he's been dubbed the Wildcat of the Week this week.

Arakawa doubled twice, scored six times, drove in three runs, and walked three times against San Bernardino. He also recorded the 100th hit of his career and has now registered two or more hits in eight straight games and 12 of the last 13 to raise his average to .493. He is hitting .633 over his past eight games and .571 over his last 13.

In Friday’s 8-5 victory, Arakawa went 2-for-5 and scored a run. He also singled in the 10th as the Wildcats scored three runs to win. He went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored as the Wildcats dropped first game of a doubleheader Saturday. In the second game, Arakawa went 3-for-3 with a walk, double, run and two RBI. His third hit of that game was the 100th of his Chico State career. Arakawa finished the weekend by going 2-for-3 with two walks, two runs scored, and an RBI in Chico State’s 20-5 win.

Arakawa leads the Wildcats in batting average (.493) hits (37), runs (33) walks (17) total bases (59), slugging percentage (.787) and on-base percentage (.581). His batting average and slugging percentage are both tops in the CCAA.

Arakawa was the West Region Gold Glove recipient last season and an Honorable Mention All-American, and has not committed an error in 44 chances this season.

Natasha Smith

Women's Basketball

Before the 2009-10 even got underway, Chico State women’s basketball Head Coach Brian Fogel described junior guard Natasha Smith as “the key to our success.” Truer words have never spoken, as Smith has turned her already impressive game up a notch to lead the Wildcats to the NCAA Championship Tournament West Regional title game. Her efforts have netted the Sacramento native her third Wildcat of the Week honor this season.

Smith earned All-NCAA Championship Tournament West Region Team honors by averaging 14 points, 7.7 assists, five rebounds, and three steals per game during the Wildcats’ run to the Sweet 16 and West Region title game.

Friday against third seeded Western Washington, Smith scored 15 points, snared four rebounds, dished out five assists and made three steals as the Wildcats downed the Vikings 79-68. Saturday versus Humboldt State, the All-CCAA first team selection was even better, posting her second career double-double with 15 points and 10 assists, while hauling in a team-high eight rebounds and five steals in Chico State’s come-from-behind 86-76 victory over the Lumberjacks. Monday, in the regional title game against Seattle Pacific, Smith finished with 12 points, eight assists, three rebounds, and a steal while drawing the defensive assignment against Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Year Daesha Henderson and limiting her to just five points on 1-of-10 shooting.

Smith, who led the CCAA in free throw percentage (.824) and assists (134), also led the ’Cats in scoring (11.5 points per game) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.44). She continues to move up the Chico State career records ladder with each contest. With one year of eligibility still remaining, Smith ranks ninth all-time in scoring, sixth in assists, seventh in free throws and 10th in career steals and 3-pointers.

12.10.09 | General

Chico State earns solid eighth place showing in Directors’ Cup fall standings

CLEVELAND – After the completion of six fall NCAA championships, the Chico State department of athletics is currently eighth in the nation in the Learfield Directors’ Cup standings. The Directors’ Cup, a joint effort between Learfield Sports, the National Association of College Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today, is designed to recognize the top programs among the over 280 schools that participate in NCAA Division II athletics.

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9.18.09 | General

Athletics Hall of Fame celebration set for Oct. 10th

CHICO — The Chico State Athletic Hall of Fame celebrates the glories of past Wildcat sports with its 24th annual awards ceremony on Saturday, October 10, in the Bell Memorial Union Auditorium on campus. Once again, an impressive list of inductees will join this exclusive club.

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9.8.09 | General

New Fall 2009 Wildcat Illustrated now available here

CHICO - The 2009 Fall edition of Wildcat Illustrated, featuring updates on all 13 of Chico State's athletic programs, and much more, is now available on www.chicowildcats.com. Just click on the banner on the right-hand side of the page for season previews, feature stories, interviews, and more.

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7.22.09 | General

Over three dozen Wildcat athletes earn CCAA All-Academic honors

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. – The Chico State athletics department was well represented as the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) released its annual list of All-Academic award winners – 37 Wildcats were among 428 student-athletes throughout the conference to earn All-Academic honors for the 2008-09 academic year.

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6.29.09 | General

Wildcats garner sixth straight top-25 finish in Directors' Cup

6.9.09 | General

SAAC bags donations for numerous organizations in 2008-09

CHICO – The Chico State Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) is a busy bunch. They’re not just athletes. They’re not even just student-athletes. They’re student-athletes who also provide a voice for their peers and service for their community. During the 2008-09 school year, Chico State SAAC helped clean up the community, collected food and gifts for those in need, donated money to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and earned 7,800 free minutes of cell phone use for soldiers with their Cell Phones for Soldiers campaign.

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6.4.09 | General

Follow the Wildcats on Twitter!

Beginning today, Chico State sports fans can stay up to date with their favorite teams through "tweets." The Chico State Sports Information Department has announced the formation of a Twitter account. Go to www.twitter.com/chicowildcats to sign up to receive short descriptions of any piece of news eminating from the Chico State Sports Information Department.

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