In a freshman season already highlighted by several standout performances, Chico State women’s cross country runner Tiffany Heflin saved her finest run to date for last Saturday’s California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championship. The Janesville native finished 12th in the six-kilometer event to not only help the Wildcats win their fourth consecutive CCAA crown and eighth in the last 10 years, but also post the highest finish of any true freshman Wildcat at the conference championships since 2001. Her impressive achievement, which netted her All-CCAA and CCAA Freshman of the Year honors, has also earned Heflin the Wildcat of the Week award.
Heflin was part of a Wildcat contingent that placed five of the top 12 finishers in the CCAA Cross Country Championship. She just missed posting a top 10 finish with a time of 21:53.6, finishing behind teammates Alia Gray, Amy Schnittger, Shannon Rich and Katie Spencer.
The effort was just the latest success in Heflin’s rookie year. She kicked off her Wildcat career with a 14th place finish at the Humboldt Invitational Sept. 10, then followed up with a 45th place finish Oct. 1 Willamette Invitational. On Oct. 15, Heflin was the top Chico State finisher, coming in 72nd at the Division I-heavy Bronco Invitational.
