Women's Cross Country | 10/26/2019 8:57:00 PM

ARCATA—A thick and foggy shroud of mist settled over the evergreens and provided an air of mystery in the moments leading up to the California Collegiate Athletic Association Women's Cross Country Championships race Saturday morning at Baywood Golf and Country Club in Arcata. Like every great mystery, the race featured twists and turns aplenty, and a surprise ending that took some time to comprehend.
 
True freshman Destiny Everett, who ran unattached in Chico State's first race of the season while weighing whether to redshirt, won the strenuous six-kilometer race while leading the Wildcats to their 12^th consecutive CCAA title.
 
This title was one of the Wildcats' most impressive. They pounded runner-up Cal State East Bay 23-81, sending four of the first five finishers across the line and eight of the top 15. It marked the fewest points by a CCAA Championship team since Chico State's 19 points in 2010 and the Wildcats' third lowest point total over the course of their 16 championships.
 
The Wildcats went to the starting line with only four returners from last season's race. One of them, senior Nora Pizzella, lost her shoe just 600 meters in as Wildcats Head Coach Gary Towne looked on in horror, worrying that this might be a bad omen for the Wildcats on this day.
 
Instead, Pizzella continued to pound the turf, a strange shoe-sock-shoe-sock-shoe-sock sound emanating off the turf, and by mid-race, head reached the lead group, joining four Wildcats in the top five.
 
Two were Everett and another true freshman, Gracie Dupuis. The other was fellow senior Talia Swangler. The rest of the Wildcats were not far behind, all moving among the top 20 or so.
 
"Our success did hinge a fair amount on our freshmen and six newcomers who didn't run it a year ago," said Towne. "Then one of our returners lost a shoe 600 meters in so, I don't know, you just kind of find a way, and we found a way again today and I'm really thankful for that."
 
The course was one of the more challenging conference championship courses in recent memory, featuring a number of steep hills and narrow chutes for the athletes to negotiate.
 
Everett, who had not finished higher than 10^th in her first three collegiate races, ran with the lead group throughout before pulling away in the final few hundred yards to beat Cal State East Bay's Angelina Ronquillo by nearly four seconds. Dupuis placed third, followed by Swangler in fourth and Pizzella in fifth.
 
Haley Boynton (10^th), Desirae Jones (12^th), Carrie McDounough (14^th), and Taylor Bailey-Lustyan (15^th) gave the Wildcats a total of eight All-CCAA accolades for finishing among the top 15. McDonough, a redshirt freshman, earned CCAA Newcomer of the Year honors for her finish.
 
The All-CCAA honor was Pizzella's third and the second straight for Boynton and Jones.
 
Neither Everett or Wildcats Head Coach Gary Towne were surprised that she performed well Saturday. But neither imagined she would win.
 
"Maybe not the win," said Towne with a big smile. "I thought she'd do well on this course. I knew she was good on hills… We did have a talk (two weeks ago) in Eugene about how I felt like a top five would be doable."
 
That would have been quite an accomplishment itself. Instead, Everett is the first Chico State freshman to win the CCAA title and the first freshman from any institution since at least 2000.
 
And even a few hours after the race, she was still as surprised as anyone.
 
"I didn't really know what to expect," said Everett, regarding her first collegiate postseason race. "I definitely did not expect to have this happen at all."
 
The Wildcats entered the race as heavy favorites, ranked No. 1 in the West Region and No. 5 in the nation, but were taking nothing for granted with four other teams ranked among the nation's top 25 in the field and a challenging course to navigate.
 
"They did a great job of seeing it through. It was a really challenging course and you really had to be composed and tough out there and they were all of the above," said Towne. "Anyone can go out there and run a good mile or a good first two miles but seeing it through from the start to the finish is really the key (to making) sure that the cream rises to the top. We've been good at that through the years. Especially our women's teams."
 
They now have 12 CCAA titles and 16 in the past 18 years to show for it.
 
Chico State Results – 2019 CCAA Women's Cross Country Championships
 
Runner of the Year - Destiny Everett (Chico State)
Freshman of the Year - Destiny Everett (Chico State)
Newcomer of the Year  - Carrie McDonough (Chico State)
Championship Scholar - Hannah Marin (Cal State Monterey Bay)
Coach of the Year – TBA
 
Team Scoring

  1. Chico State – 23
  2. Cal State East Bay – 81
  3. Cal Poly Pomona – 101
  4. UC San Diego – 111
  5. Stanislaus State – 119
  6. Cal State San Marcos – 135
  7. Humboldt State – 152
  8. Cal State Los Angles – 236
  9. Cal State San Bernardino – 250
10. Cal State Monterey Bay – 278
11. San Francisco State – 313
12. Sonoma State – 348
 
Individual Results
  1. Destiny Everett (22:02.55)
  3. Gracie Dupuis (22:07.78)
  4. Talia Swangler (22:14.01)
  5. Nora Pizzella (22:15.06)
10. Haley Boynton (22:38.69)
12. Desirae Jones (22:42.55)
14. Carrie McDonough (22:45.92)
15. Taylor Bailey-Lustyan (22:46.25)
31. Jalen Burns (23:16.78)
34. Katie Hawley (23.19.4)