Butte Community College transfer Ayla Granados (Castro Valley HS) faced quite a challenge in her first race at the NCAA level. She rose up to meet that challenge in style. Granados finished 11th at the West Coast Conference Preview Saturday, leading the Wildcats to a third-place finish in a field that featured three teams ranked among the West Region's top-15 Division I teams. For her efforts, Granados is this week's Chico State Athletics Wildcat of the Week.
Granados, who won Northern California Community College Track & Field Championship titles in the 1,500 and 5,000 meters last season, completed the 6,000-meter Fernhill Park course in a time of 21:43.68, just 40 seconds behind the race's winner, Washington State's Caroline Austin.
Granados and the Wildcats face another stiff challenge in their next outing when they travel to Palo Alto to take part in the Stanford Invitational on Sept. 29.
