Chico State Athletics

Christopher Colla knew what he wanted, even as a 17-year-old: the opportunity to play college golf year round, and for all four years. He didn't want to redshirt or ride the pine. So, when it came to choosing which college to attend between Division I programs in cold climates (Wisconsin and Minnesota), with big rosters (in South Carolina and New Mexico), and top-ranked Division II programs University of South Carolina-Aiken and Chico State, Colla chose Chico.
 
Approaching five years after making that decision, Colla has decided to make it five years at Chico State instead of four. The Wildcat of the Week was preparing for the home stretch of his senior campaign before collegiate athletics, and the world as we knew it, came to a halt.
 
Already planning to help out the program as an assistant coach while completing his degree next year, Colla will now return to play while completing his major in human geography and minor in economics.
 
"I'm grateful to get one more year," Colla said via telephone from Fond du Lac. "We have a lot of talent and I think there's a lot left on the table for us to accomplish."
 
Colla has come a long way, both literally and figuratively. In fact, no one on any current Chico State roster came to Chico State from further away. Fond du Lac is 2,125 miles from Chico. Colla's teammate, Mark Noonan, comes in a close second. He hails from Mount Vernon, Illinois, which is 23 miles closer, according to Mapquest.com.
 
Three Wildcats list their hometowns as further away than Fond du Lac: men's soccer's Anais Mayo and track and field's Courtlen Burke III have Atlanta as their hometowns, but both were attending school in California before coming to Chico State. Colla's teammate, Myoung Kim, is originally from South Korea, but transferred to Chico State following two years at Orange Coast Community College in Costa Mesa. In fact, of the 313 student-athletes on 2019–20 Chico State rosters, only 19 list hometowns outside of the state, and only 15 were attending school outside of the state before coming to Chico.
 
Colla competed in five events for the Wildcats as a true freshman, helping lead the Wildcats to the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Championships Regional while averaging 75.39 strokes per round and carding a pair of top-20 finishes.
 
As a sophomore, Colla lowered his scoring average to 74.0 and won all three of his medal/match showdowns during the Wildcats' run to a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) title and the top seed in the NCAA Regional. He earned All-CCAA honorable mention in the process.
 
As a junior, Colla competed in a career-high 11 events, carding 11 rounds of par or better, and a pair of top-10 finishes, while leading the Wildcats back the NCAA Championships.
 
Colla was off to his best start yet this season. His stroke average of 73.67 was a career-low and ranked sixth in the CCAA. He racked up three top-10 finishes in six events, including his first collegiate win, at the Sierra Central Wildcat Classic at Butte Creek Country Club in Chico. In what was supposed to be his final collegiate home tournament, Colla took the lead midway through the opening round, and despite having a target on his back for the next two-plus rounds, won by three shots.
 
In the fall of 2021, Colla will be back, along with that target. But that's just the way he likes it. In fact, he's already put one on the Wildcats.
 
"We've had some pretty good golf teams over the last four years but I think we've actually underachieved," said Colla. "I'm looking forward to coming back because I think there's a lot that we can accomplish."