Alia Gray posted an impressive 22nd-place finish Saturday at the 36th Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto to earn Wildcat of the Week honors. The sophomore from Santa Rosa, competing against a Division-I dominated field of 179 runners, completed the six-kilometer race in 21:38, just two seconds behind Wildcats teammate Kara Lubieniecki. Gray recorded the third-best time of any Division II runner, and bettered her performance in last year’s Stanford Invitational by more than a minute, when she finished 50th with a time of 22:41. An All-CCAA and All-West Region cross country selection in 2008, Gray also turned in a standout performance in Chico State’s only other cross country event this season, finishing 12th at the Asics/UC Irvine Invitational Sept. 12.
Gray and Lubieniecki ran a fast early pace but trailed at least 75 women at the mile mark. During the second mile the pair started to roll through the field, taking advantage of those who had started much too fast. Gray spearheaded a late drive through pack after pack, catching and passing NCAA Top-15 placer Jane Larson along the way. Following closely was Lubieniecki who would later flash her amazing finishing skills to catch and pass 5-6 women in the final straight (including Gray).
Still, it was Gray's dirty work that Head Coach Gary Towne credited with helping to key the Wildcats' strong fifth-place team finish.
