Chico State men's cross country coach Gary Towne likes to point out that races can't be won in the first half. They can only be lost. The second half of the race is where the toughest, most talented, and best-trained athletes separate themselves from the rest. The same can be said for collegiate distance running careers, and Wildcat of the Week Matthew Herrera is a prime example.
Herrera arrived on campus in 2016, part of a heralded recruiting class with big aspirations. The cold truth is, he was a walk-on and went unmentioned in that season's recruiting class announcement. Running as a redshirt in his first collegiate cross country event, Herrera was the last finisher among 22 Chico State competitors. He did not give up. He understood there were a lot of miles ahead.
By the end of his sophomore season Herrera was consistently running among the top dozen Wildcats, but did not make the team's postseason roster. Instead of sulking, Herrera went out and won the Doc Adams Invitational 8K to wrap up that campaign. He was working hard and getting stronger, putting himself in position to excel during the second half of his collegiate career.
Herrera took off as a junior, finishing third in the season-opening Stump Invitational. Now he was really off to the races, and after making his first Chico State cross country postseason team, made the most of it. Herrera finished fifth at the CCAA Championships and then 11th at the NCAA West Region Championships, helping lead the team to titles in both and then competing at the NCAA Championships as part of the Wildcats' historic third-place finish as a team.
Two years later (including one lost to COVID-19) Herrera is the only student-athlete left over from that 2016 recruiting class to make Chico State's 2021 postseason roster. Herrera earned his second consecutive All-CCAA award with a 12th-place finish at the conference championships on October 23. Saturday, Herrera finished 12th at the NCAA West Region Championships. As a headwind blew in his face and rain fell in sheets, Herrera passed 10 tiring competitors in the second half of the race to finish 12th, helping lead the Wildcats to their fifth consecutive regional title.
Herrera's final race in a Chico State cross country uniform will take place on Saturday, November, 20, at the NCAA Championships in Saint Leo, Florida. The last time he was there was in 2016 when he and some teammates made the 40-plus hour trek to to cheer on the team at the NCAA Championships. This time, Herrera if flying.
