The trophy is almost as big as Karlie Garcia. It is heavy too. But you can see from the pictures that she doesn't mind the weight. It feels great.
Garcia may be the smallest member of the Chico State women's cross country team, but she ran the biggest race of her Chico State cross country career Saturday to place 11th at the NCAA Championships and lead the Wildcats to a fourth-place finish and final spot on the podium. Hence, the hefty trophy.
Garcia's finish is the best ever for a Chico State woman at the NCAA Championships, besting current assistant Sadie Gastelum's 12th-place effort in 2015.
Garcia started slowly and ran in 88thplace 1,000 meters into the six-kilometer race. She pick up 51 places in the next kilometer, 17 more in the third, and then catapulted all the way up into second place with two kilometers to go. She went on to finish 11th and the Wildcats beat Alaska Anchorage by one point for fourth.
With their finishes Saturday, Garcia and Hannah Dorman joined an elite list of five Wildcats who have placed in the top 50 at two NCAA Championship Finals.
