Head Coach Gary Towne describes Nora Pizzella as the rock of the Chico State women's cross country team: steady, strong, and unshakeable. Pizzella may be a rock, but she can also roll. The senior from Nevada City has helped lead the Wildcats to a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) title and NCAA Championship West Regional crown this postseason, earning the title of Wildcat of the Week.
The CCAA championship is the fourth straight Pizzella has been part of. Over her four seasons, she's finished, 7th, 16th, 2nd, and 5th at the CCAAs. She helped lead the Wildcats to the West Region title as a freshman, finishing 25th in that race, and again last Saturday as a senior, with a 20th-place finish. In between, Pizzella placed 40th in the West Regional as a sophomore and 17th as a junior.
In finishing 20th on Saturday, Pizzella became just the eighth runner in the program's history to rack up three All-West Region awards.
Pizzella and fellow senior Desirae Jones, were the fourth and fifth Wildcats to cross the finish line Saturday in Monmouth, Oregon, sealing the team's eighth regional title all-time. With the win, Chico State earned automatic qualification into the NCAA Championship finals on November 23, in Sacramento. Pizzella has been part of each of the past three NCAA Championship efforts by the Wildcats, who have finished fourth twice—each time earning a spot on the NCAA Championships podium—and among the top eight three times.
