JOPLIN, Mo. – The Chico State men's cross country team is back among the nation's elite. And with three All-Americans slated to return in 2016, it looks like the Wildcats are back to stay. Juniors Will Reyes finished 10^th, Stephen Martinez 17^th and sophomore Kyle Medina 34^th to lead the Wildcats to a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Championships Saturday on the campus of Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, Missouri.
 
After missing a top-10 finish for the first time in 16 years last season, the Wildcats logged their 12^th top-six finish in the past 14 years.
 

"It was a nice bounce-back for our program," Head Coach Gary Towne said. "And I think we all saw today that the future is bright."
 
Reyes' top-10 finish is the 10^th in the program's NCAA Championship history. Martinez's 17^th-place showing is the 17^th highest.
 
Aaron Mora finished 69^th for the Wildcats, and Steven Velarde, running courageously after sustaining a leg injury early in the race, stopped Chico State's scoring in 150^th place. He was the team's third finisher at the NCAA West Regional Championships. Caton Avilla finished 159^th and Connor Fisher 192^nd.
 
"It was definitely a bittersweet day," Towne said. "I am really proud of the guys. They fought hard. We just had one too many guys that faded off the back to get on that podium."
 
Reyes covered the 10-kilometer course in 30:02.05 to join an elite fraternity of seven Wildcats distance runners with top-10 finishes as the NCAA Championships. He joins Scott Bauhs (2006 & 2008), Isaac Chavez (2010, 2011 & 2013), Charlie Serrano (2006), Brent Handa (2010), Patrick Boivin (2004) and Michael Daily (1969).
 
"I'd say the day was overall pretty good," Reyes said. "I made a couple mistakes but all I can do is really learn from them. It's always reassuring to be able to place like that, and to know I have another year to develop is a nice confidence booster."
 
Towne concurred with Reyes' race assessment.
 
"Without a doubt, Will is a special athlete. Today was proof of that," Towne said. "It wasn't his best day of the year, but it wasn't a bad day. From the outside looking in, he had a bit of an off day, but I was really proud of the fight that he had once he got booted from the lead pack. He was in no-mans land with a lot of runners chasing him. He really had to keep his composure to maintain his position. He did a great job of damage control. A top-10 finish at the NCAA Championships… That's a heck of a performance."
 
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Shorter freshman Alfred Chelanga won the race with a time of 29:21.6.
 

Colorado Mines won the men's race with 100 points. Adams State was second with 127, while Alaska Anchorage (138), Grand Valley State (201) and Shippensburg (210) rounded out the top five.
 
Chico State's California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) rival Cal Poly Pomona finished ninth and Simon Fraser was 12^th to give the West Region four of the top 12 teams.
 
Martinez, a redshirt junior, rose to the NCAA Championships occasion, according to Towne.
 
"That might have been his best race of the year," Towne said. "It was great to see him alive out there, moving through packs, and not settling in. Today he was on the hunt throughout the race."
 
"It feels pretty good," Martinez said. "If you would have told me in high school I'd be able to do something like this I probably wouldn't have believed it."
 
Medina's All-America award was his first in the sport of cross country. Two weeks ago, he wasn't even sure he'd be on the NCAA Championships roster after struggling through some injuries and being pulled from Towne's West Regional Championship roster.
 
"He was still hurting out there today, but what a great job of fighting," Towne said. "It was one of the most engaged efforts I've seen from him in cross country. He did a great job of fighting."
 

Towne's NCAA Championships team was made up of three juniors, three sophomores and a freshman. He, Reyes and Martinez were already looking ahead to next season immediately after the race.
 
"I expect that next year we'll pull from this and hopefully take some steps forward," Towne said.
 
"Having experience is a good advantage," Martinez said. "We're all coming back. This experience will make a pretty big difference next year. I promise you we are all going to grind to get better."
 
"As a team we had a pretty good day," Reyes said. "Just a few things here and there kept us from the trophy. We're going to everything we can between now and next year to make sure that doesn't happen again."

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