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Wildcat Athletes of the Week

Men's Cross Country runner Johnny Sanchez

Johnny Sanchez

  • Award
    Wildcat Athletes of the Week
  • Week Of
    11/11/2013
  • Sport
    Men's Cross Country
  • Bio
    View Full Bio
Last season's struggles left many who follow Chico State cross country wondering where the Johnny Sanchez from 2011 went. Well, heeeeeere's Johnny! And this week's Wildcat of the Week looks like he's better than ever.

Sanchez finished second at the NCAA West Region Championships Saturday in Spokane, Wash., helping the Wildcats earn their 10th regional title in the past 12 years and a spot on the starting line at the NCAA Championships on Nov. 23, right back in Spokane.

The junior from Fresno secured his third straight All-West Region accolade, covering the 10-kilometer course in 31:32.17.

This was the kind of result Wildcats fans envisioned year in and year out after Sanchez finished third at the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championships, sixth at the West Regional Championships, and 34th at the NCAA Championships as a freshman in 2011.

Sanchez and Head Coach Gary Towne ramped up his training regimen for his sophomore season, but the results were not what they hoped to see. He was still among the team's top runners, but Sanchez slipped to 12th at the CCAA Championships, 21st at the West Regional, and 70th at the NCAA Championships.

As Towne explained, sometimes you have to take one step backward to take two forward. That appears to have been the case with Sanchez.

Beginning with a 25th-place finish at the Stanford Invitational, Sanchez has run among Chico State's top three in every race this season, and Saturday may have marked his best result thus far.


Athlete Awards
Date Athlete Sport
5/6/2013 Brooke Shepard Women's Track & Field
4/29/2013 Kelli Keefe Softball
4/29/2013 Lee Gearhart Men's Golf
4/22/2013 Kayla McConnell Softball
4/22/2013 Alex McGuirk Men's Track & Field
4/15/2013 Tori Mason Women's Track & Field
4/15/2013 Kagen Hopkins Baseball
4/8/2013 Adam Nikssarian Men's Track & Field
4/8/2013 Gabrielle Finley-Vaquera Women's Track & Field
4/1/2013 Adrian Sherrod Men's Track & Field
4/1/2013 Amy Schnittger Women's Track & Field
3/25/2013 Kelly Gundert Women's Track & Field
3/25/2013 Pierson Jeremiah Baseball
3/18/2013 Kagen Hopkins Baseball
3/18/2013 Heather Fegley Women's Golf
3/11/2013 Hakeem Dyson Men's Track & Field
3/11/2013 Emily McEnaney Softball
3/4/2013 Theodore Elsenbaumer Men's Track & Field
3/4/2013 Bridget McClarrinon Women's Track & Field
2/25/2013 Blake Gibbs Baseball
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