As the proud first-time father of a beautiful three-month-old girl, the wearer of a beard, and the assistant sports information director at Chico State University, I am frequently asked the following three questions: 1. How is that little girl of yours? 2. How long did it take you to grow that beard? 3. How did Chico State get Scott Bauhs?

Bauhs, getting set to compete in the 10,000 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials on July 4, has clocked the second fastest 10,000-meters by a U.S. runner this year, the fastest time in the history of NCAA Division II, and the fourth fastest time ever by an American NCAA athlete. He will toe the line in Eugene, Oregon, Friday at 9:20 p.m. in a Chico State Track & Field uniform as one of only seven American athletes who have met the Olympic “A” Standard and, thus, would be guaranteed a spot on the United States Olympic Team in Beijing, China, by finishing among the top three. If he does, he will be the first Chico State athlete to compete in the Olympics.

So it’s a fair question: What is this guy doing at Chico State?

His journey to Chico State began in the passenger seat of his dad, Tom’s, car. Bauhs caught the running bug from his dad, who gave him rides to races throughout the Bay Area while he was in elementary school and junior high. Tom ran in some of the races, and simply provided the transportation and cheering section for others.

“A big part of it was probably just a chance to ride in the car with my dad,” said Bauhs. “I was always up for spending time with him and I was always up for a race.”

He ran his first race as a third grader, joined a cross country club in junior high, and then won the East Bay Athletic League junior varsity league title as a freshman, eventually catching the eye of Chico State distance running coach Gary Towne.

Towne believed in Bauhs early in his high school career, not because of his physical presence but because of his demeanor. In fact, Bauhs was less-than-impressive physically.

“As a freshman Scott was a tiny little kid,” explained Towne. “Even by the time he was a senior he looked like he was 13 or 14 years old. He ran some pretty good times, but nothing super-outstanding. In California there are so many good runners that some can fly under the radar.

“But there were certain intangibles you could see – toughness, aggressiveness – you could really see those qualities shine through. Just the way he competed, you knew he had the ability to be really good, but even then I probably would have never dreamed he would be where he is right now at this time in his career.”

Towne’s pursuit of Bauhs, along with the success of Bauhs’ fellow San Ramon Valley High School graduate Katie Lee, a six-time All-American at Chico State, gave Bauhs a good feeling about Chico State. And while Towne saw past Bauhs’ physical immaturity and from the beginning was intrigued by his courage on the track, Bauhs felt like Chico State was a great fit for him very early on.

“I was always successful in high school but I never made any waves on a national scale or anything,” said Bauhs. “I wasn’t highly recruited but I certainly had options. I really didn’t give any other schools much of a thought. I figured out very early on that Chico State was a good fit for me. It made my decision really easy.”

By the time Bauhs did make some waves by finishing second at the State Championships in the two-mile race, he had already committed to Chico State. He’s just one of three runners ever to sign early with the Wildcats and it’s a good thing he did. That was Bauhs’ best race as a prep and it prompted a number of big-time programs to come calling. Bauhs was already a Wildcat though, a choice he is still happy he made.

“I’ve wondered at times what it would have been like in a different situation at a bigger school, but I can’t imagine being in a better situation,” said Bauhs. “There’s the possibility that at a lot of the bigger schools I wouldn’t have gotten to where I am because I really have a lot of faith in Gary. He’s as good a coach as I could have had.”

The pair can often be found talking workout plans, race strategy, or simply as friends in Towne’s small office off the hallway in Acker Gym. And on almost any day, a careful observer can find Bauhs running on or around the Chico State campus, willing to wave and say hello, but rarely to stop.

Very little has stopped Bauhs since he arrived on the Chico State campus. Before redshirting on the track as a freshman, he finished 24th at the National Cross Country Championships to earn the first of seven All-America honors. He finished 29th a year later for his second All-America award and followed that up with a sixth-place finish on the track in the 10,000-meters at the National Championships.

His third-place finish at the National Cross Country Championships in 2006 was the best finish ever by a Chico State athlete, and then at the National Track & Field Championships during his sophomore year on the track, he claimed Chico State’s first ever distance title in the 10,000 meters and finished second in the 5,000-meters.

Bauhs’ national title served as a coming-out party of sorts to the national distance running community. In that race he handed senior Nicodemus Naimadu, a 10-time National Champion, his first collegiate loss in a race over a mile. After Naimadu took the lead with eight laps to go, Bauhs broke away from the field in a solo effort to catch him. He did just that with a little over a lap to go, and then in a move that got the attention of everyone in attendance, when Bauhs caught Naimadu, he kept running right on past him. Naimadu battled back and actually retook the lead for a moment with just over 100 meters to go, but Bauhs responded and out kicked a clearly hurting Naimadu over the final few meters to win.

“The thing that separates Scott from a lot of runners is his willingness to put himself out on a limb during a race,” said Towne. “The pain during distance running is difficult to handle mentally and physically, so that just naturally leads to apprehension. It’s easy to be a little bit conservative because you’re afraid of just how bad it’s going to hurt. Really, since high school, he’s not been afraid of putting himself into a position where he’s going to put himself in major pain late in races. You can’t put a value on that kind of thing for a distance runner. That win (against Naimadu) is a perfect example of what makes Scott special. He knew it was going to hurt really bad to try to catch Naimadu on his own, but in running through that pain, he inflicted even more pain on Nicodemus, and that’s what won him the race.”

Three days later Bauhs appeared to have the national 5,000-meter title wrapped up, but he slowed and allowed senior teammate and training partner Charlie Serrano to cross the finish line first in an act of selflessness that was reported around the nation.

Some have credited good karma, at least in part, to the amazing year that has followed that race. Since then, Bauhs has done nothing but impress the distance running community.

• On Oct. 14, Bauhs ran the fastest American half-marathon ever by someone 21-years-old or younger at the San Jose half-marathon. The first U.S. runner to cross the finish line, he broke the tape in 1:03.04.
• On Nov. 23, Bauhs represented the United States in Japan at the International Chiba Ekiden relays and ran the fastest 10,000-meter stage to help lead the U.S. to a fourth-place finish.
• On February 16, Bauhs earned a spot on the U.S. World Championship Cross Country Team. The then 21-year-old Bauhs was the youngest athlete and lone collegiate runner to earn a spot on the team with his 10th-place finish.
• On March 30, Bauhs finished 52nd overall at the World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh, Scotland. His time of 37:15 in the 12-kilometer race was the fourth-best mark by an American and the eighth-best finish by a non-African in the nearly 200-athlete field.
• On April 8, Bauhs thrilled a crowd of more than 2,000 at Chico State’s University Stadium by becoming just the 308th American to run a mile in under four minutes, crossing the finish line in 3:59.81 and breaking the Chico State mile record in the process.
• On April 18, Bauhs ran the fastest 5,000-meters ever by an American Division II athlete and the third fastest ever by any Division II athlete at the Mt. SAC Relays. His time of 13:31.90 was also an Olympic Trials automatic qualifying mark.
• On May 4, Bauhs won the CCAA 1,500-meter title for the third season in a row.
• On May 5, Bauhs smashed the NCAA Division II record for the 10,000-meters by almost 15 seconds at the Payton Jordan Invitational at Stanford. Then the fastest time recorded by an American this year, his 27:48.06 effort gave him the Olympic “A” standard and automatically qualified him for the Olympic Trials. That time is still the second fastest by an American this year. It’s also the ninth fastest ever recorded by an NCAA athlete and the fourth fastest ever by an American NCAA athlete.
• On May 22, Bauhs was named United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association Division II Track Athlete of the Year.
• On May 24, Bauhs earned his second National Title by winning the 5,000-meters at the 2008 NCAA Track and Field Championships.

Bauhs is quick to point out and proud of the fact that his considerable improvements (He shaved 66 seconds off his 10,000-meter personal record over the course of one year.) have not been due to a new approach or the latest fad.

“I’ve just been consistent and very patient. A lot of things I did as a freshman I still do today,” said Bauhs. “I have faith in Gary and what he says. Being consistent is really what has brought me to where I am. There haven’t been any defining moments really in my mind, just hard workouts, hard training, hard races, some times that weren’t very rewarding and some times that were. Through it all I’ve just tried to hold strong and work hard day in and day out.”

That work, along with rides to races with dad, and Bauhs’ competitive spirit, has put this 22-year-old newcomer to the International scene in a position to qualify for the Olympics, perhaps the greatest honor in sports. Towne, who knows perhaps better than anyone, thinks Bauhs has a chance.

“As long as I’ve known Scott he has continued to out-do himself and do things that are surprising to even me,” said Towne. “He’s got a history of pulling off big races. All of that tells you that he’s got a chance.”

It’s a chance not even Bauhs imagined he would have before he clocked that 27:48 in early May. Until then, when Bauhs imagined qualifying for the Olympics, he imagined doing it in 2012.

“I never even thought about the 2008 Olympics until that night,” he says.

Since then, he’s gone to sleep every night dreaming of racing for a spot in Beijing. And if he can pull off one more miraculous race, he can take the entire Chico State family with him.