Paige Henker is quickly becoming a great "Local Woman Makes Good" story. A native of Chico and Chico High School graduate, Henker walked on to the women's cross country team last year, and in the words of Head Coach Gary Towne, she's "come a long way in a year and is really doing some amazing stuff right now." Friday, the redshirt freshman finished 11th overall in the highly competetive San Francisco State Invitational. For her efforts, Henker has been dubbed this week's Wildcat of the Week.
To understand just how impressive Henker's finish was, it helps to know the company she was running in . Finishing just in a few seconds in front of Henker was Mikayla Murphy of UC Santa Cruz, an All-American who has run in the low 17’s for 5k on the track. And just a few seconds behind Henker was Humboldt State’s top runner, Megan Rolland, the two-time defending California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Steeplechase champion who ran one of the fastest Division II steeplechase times in the nation last track season.
Henker's impressive showing proved that her 18:32 breakout on the Willamette layout a week ago was indeed a true indication of fitness. Her 6,000-meter PR of 22:32 Friday was an amazing 2:40 faster than she’s clocked on the same layout a year ago.
