Left off the 2018 Chico State men's cross country California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championship roster, Matthew Herrera did not sit at home and sulk. Instead, the then-sophomore traveled to Davis for the Doc Adams Invitational. Perhaps taking out a little of his frustration on the field, the product of San Bruno's Junipero Serra High School won that eight-kilometer race at Putah Creek Reserve by nearly four seconds.
Committed to being part of the Wildcats' 2019 postseason run during his junior campaign, Herrera spent the summer training at altitude and wasted no time positioning himself as one of the team's top athletes this season, placing third overall at the season-opening Stump Invitational. After adding finishes of sixth at the stacked Capital Cross Challenge and seventh at the Western Washington University Cross Country Classic to his resume, Herrera had not only solidified his spot on the postseason roster, but positioned himself among the team's top talents.
At Saturday's CCAA Championships, Herrera had the postseason experience he could only dream about one year before, finishing fifth to earn All-CCAA honors and lead the Wildcats to a runaway victory and their 18th consecutive conference title. He was also named the Wildcat of the Week Herrera traversed the tough eight-kilometer Baywood Golf and Country Club course in 25:06.3.
He and the Wildcats will now focus on the Nov. 9 NCAA Championship West Regional, an event they have won three years in a row.
