Isaac Chavez’s eighth-place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships Saturday in Spokane, Wash., left him cold, both literally and figuratively. The frigid temperatures took their toll on the native of Barstow, Calif., where the average November high is a supple 70 degrees.
He entered the day with visions of victory and crossed the finish line disheartened.
Stop. Rewind.
Chavez, this week’s Wildcat of the Week, finished in EIGHTH PLACE! At the NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS!
With three top-13 NCAA Championships finishes already on his resume, the senior sensed an opportunity to wrap up his cross country career with an NCAA title. So his disappointment following the race is understandable.
But now it’s time to celebrate Chavez’s sensational cross country career.
He’s a four-time All-American, the 2013 Male West Region Cross Country Athlete of the Year, the 2012 California Collegiate Athletic Association Champion and Runner of the Year, and the 2010 CCAA Newcomer of the Year.
One of only three four-time cross country All-Americans produced by Chico State, Chavez boasts three of the top seven NCAA Championships finishes in Chico State history. He’s the only Wildcat with four top-five finishes at the NCAA West Regionals. And he’s the only Wildcats with four top-five finishes at the CCAA Championships.
He didn’t finish it quite like he wanted to, but Isaac Chavez’s collegiate cross country career could hardly have gone much better.
