Chico State cross country coach Gary Towne often refers to Shannon Rich as solid and steady. He's going to have to come up with a spicier description now. Rich ran the race of her life Saturday to finish 37th at the NCAA Championships, earn All-America honors, and help lead the Wildcats to a fifth-place finish with the lowest team total in the history of the program. She earned Wildcat of the Week honors for her efforts.
Here are a few suggestions for Towne:
1. Aggressive: Rich believed she had the capability to run in the top 40 and earn All-America honors so she went out fast in search of just that. Her aggressive approach paid off handsomly as she hit the halfway mark of the six-kilometer race in four-way tie for 37th. She outran three of those athletes over the final three kilometers and was passed by only one runner who hit the halfway mark after her.
2. Driven: Rich was forced to train by herself for much of this season because of a rigorous academic schedule. She obviously had the discipline to push herself, however, and peaked at the biggest race of the year.
3. Seasoned: Rich learned from her first two National Championship races, which she finished 104th as a freshman and 85th as a sophomore. She took a more conservative approach into those two races, but found that running from behind against such a large field proved too difficult. The result was the more aggresive tact she took this season.
4. One of the best: Rich's 37th-place finish is tied for the 17th best in Chico State history. She is the 15th female All-American in Chico State women's cross country history.
The junior biology major from Rancho Cotate will now set her sites on the track where she's twice earned All-California Collegiate Athletic Association honors, including her second-place finish in last year's CCAA 10-kilomoter Championship.
