Chico State distance runner Jessica Varela had her breakthrough on the track this spring, notching the seventh fastest 10,000-meter run in school history and then winning the California Collegiate Athletic Association 10K title. This fall she’s proven that she’s pretty fast off the oval as well.
Varela, who already earned All-CCAA and All-Region honors, capped a fantastic cross country campaign with a 63rd-place finish out of 249 competitors at Saturday’s NCAA Championships in Joplin, Mo., covering the 6,000-meter course in 21:46.9. The sophomore was steady to say the least, banging out the first three kilometers in 10:53.5 and then the final three in the exact same time while moving up nine spots. She’s this week’s Chico State athletics Wildcat of the Week.
Varela’s time was the 38th fastest among all underclassmen and the 23rd fastest among all freshmen and sophomores. With with two years of eligibility remaining, All-America honors are certainly within her reach – on the trails and the track.
