Heading into Friday night's Ash Creek Invitational in Monmouth, Ore., Chico State junior distance runner Sadie Gastelum had never finished higher than 10th in a collegiate cross country contest. She certainly went out and changed that, nearly winning the whole thing. In the process, Gastelum did plenty to win Wildcat of the Week honors.
The junior from Gardnerville, Nev., finished second, nipped at the line by Simon Fraser's Rebecca Basett, the third-place finisher at last year's NCAA Regional Championships.
Gastelum seems to be hitting her stride heading into her junior season. She won the team's four-mile preseason time trial and covered the 4,600-meter Ash Creek course in 16:28.6 (a 5:45 mile pace).
Gastelum and the 7th-ranked Wildcats (No. 1 in the West Region), outran West No. 2 Simon Fraser (8th nationally), Division I West No. 9 Portland, and nine other squads for a relatively easy victory on a warm day in the Willamette Valley.
Gastelum and the Wildcats will be back in action at the Stanford Invitational Sept. 26.
