When Chico State women’s track & field Head Coach Oliver Hanf set about the task of fortifying his already talented stable of sprinters, he didn’t have to travel far to land Gabrielle Finley-Vaquera, a local product who starred at Pleasant Valley High School. The freshman is the latest proof of Hanf’s unquestioned recruiting abilities – Finley-Vaquera was one of the Wildcats’ many standouts Saturday at the California-Oregon Border Battle, finishing first in a pair of individual races and helping win one relay event. Her performance made Finley-Vaquera the runaway winner of Wildcat of the Week.
Finley-Vaquera took top honors in the California-Oregon Border Battle’s 100-meter dash, posting a winning time of 12.63 seconds. She also was the first to cross the finish line in the 200-meter dash with a personal-best time of 25.81 seconds.
Finley-Vaquera turned in another first place effort at the meet held in Klamath Falls, Ore., teaming with Amilia Santos, Robin Hannah and Kasey Barnett to win the 4x100-meter relay with a time of 48.39 seconds. Finley-Vaquera was also part of the Wildcats’ 4x400-meter relay team that finished second Saturday, clocking in at 4:15.50.
The Chico State women’s track & field team will be home this weekend, hosting the Chico Distance Carnival on Friday and the Chico Twilight Invitational on Saturday.
