Much of the talk surrounding the 2019 Chico State cross country program will focus on the city of Sacramento, host to this year's NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships. That's where the Wildcats want this campaign's final chapter to be written. It's where they hope to pen a joyous ending.
 
In their quest to qualify for the NCAA Championships for the 20^th straight season and beyond, and reach the podium (a top-four finish) for the seventh time, the Wildcats will lean heavily on talent culled from throughout the state of California, as they always have. This year's recruiting class is a great example.
 
Head Coach Gary Towne signed five Californians who hail from institutions as far away as Los Angeles and as close as across the street. They each have a chance to make a splash this season, and possibly be part of a national championships run just 90 minutes down the road.
 
Glendale Community College transfer Angelica Salas is expected to be a key piece to the Wildcats' puzzle right away, while prep products Gracie Dupuis (from Livermore's Granada High School), Destiny Everett (Lincoln High School in Lincoln), Jacqueline Cascione (Saugus High School in Santa Clarita), and Britta Bundy (who resides just up Highway 99 from Chico, in Vina, but competed across the street from Chico State at Chico High School) hope to make an early splash on the collegiate scene.
 
Salas set school records in the 1,500 meters (5:09), 3,000 meters (11:07) and 3,200 meters (11:23) as a prep at Birmingham High School in Van Nuys, before spending the past three years at Glendale Community College—the first two competing in uniform and last season as a redshirt.
 
Salas placed fourth at the California Community College Cross Country Championships as a sophomore and concluded her junior campaign with a second-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the California Community College Track and Field Championships.
 
Last year, while completing her academic work at Glendale, Salas ran as a redshirt against the Wildcats at the Capital Cross Challenge—at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex, site of this year's NCAA Championships—and beat them all, finishing 17^th overall. She also squared off against a number of Chico State's California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) foes at the Cal State San Bernardino-hosted Coyote Classic and won that race.
 
"Angelica will be a welcomed addition to our program," Towne said. "She has already run at the level that it will take to be competitive within our conference, region and NCAA. She is a hard worker and a tough racer and we're excited to have her in uniform this fall."
 
On the track in the spring, Salas reeled off a number of impressive efforts while shaving substantial time off her personal records (PRs) in the 1,500 (with a time of 4:46), 3,000 meters (10:11) and 5,000 meters (17:35).
 
Dupuis is used to competing in big races as a product of Granada High School, which consistently boasts one of the top programs in the state. She came in second at the East Bay Athletic League championships and third at the North Coast Section Championships as a senior before wrapping up last season with a 32^nd-place run at the state championships, helping lead the Matadors to a second-place finish.
 
Her three-mile time of 17:15 was among her highlights as a prep.
 
"After Gracie's visit in the fall we were really hoping that she would choose Chico," Towne said. "She is a very accomplished distance runner and comes from a successful program where hard work and consistency have led to countless team championships, which should help her transition into a program like ours. And both of her parents are Chico alumni. We're absolutely thrilled to have Gracie aboard and look forward to what the future has in store."
 
Dupuis enjoyed similar successes on the track, notching an impressive 5:07/11:02 double in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters at the EBAL Championships before concluding her prep career with another strong double of 5:07/11:06 at the section championships.
 
Everett made history at Lincoln High School, becoming the first Zebra to toe the stripe at the California State Track and Field Championships, concluding her prep campaign with a 22^nd-place finish in the 1,600 meters.
 
One of the top distance talents in the Sac Joaquin Section, Everett placed fourth at the section cross country championships and qualified for the state championships, where she finished 32^nd in a time of 18:34. Everett wrapped up her cross country campaign with a 38^th-place run at the Foot Locker West Seeded race at Mt. SAC.
 
She continued her forward momentum on the track, logging PRs of 2:20 in the 800 meters, 5:12 in the 1,600, and 10:55 in the 3,200. Her 3,200-meter PR came in a second-place finish at the Sac Joaquin Section Championships, which earned her that historic spot in the state championships.
 
"Having followed Destiny's progress throughout her senior year and knowing a fair amount about her background in the sport, I believe she has a huge upside for college running," Towne said. "Destiny is just scratching the surface with regards to training volumes, and yet she has logged some very impressive marks on the tracks and trails. We are very fortunate to have Destiny joining us and I am confident that she will play a big part in our future successes."
 
Cascione is coming off a great career with perennial state power Saugus High School, which has earned 14 consecutive trips to the state meet (including four with Cascione in the fold). She also shined on the track, registering PRs of 2:19 (800 meters), 5:06 (1,600), and 10:50 (3,200), which all rank highly among previous Wildcats recruits.
 
"Jacqueline chose Chico because it felt like the right fit athletically and academically," Towne said. "As well as her PRs stack up with former Wildcat greats, her academics are equally as impressive. We're so fortunate and grateful that Jacqueline chose Chico and equally as excited to see what the future has in store for this talented student-athlete."
 
A member of the state championship team as a freshman, Cascione recorded a 5,000-meter trails PR of 18:02 while placing eighth at the prestigious NIKE Portland Invitational as a junior. She went on to finish 14^th at the state championships, leading Saugus to a second-place finish.
 
Bundy is yet another new Wildcat who has excelled in competition and in the classroom. Chico High School's 2018–19 Scholar Athlete of the Year, Bundy won the Northern Section Cross Country Championships title and went on to finish 40^th at the state championships. Her 18:03 PR in the three-mile Bill Springhorn Invitational was the highlight of Bundy's regular season.
 
"I've had the unique opportunity to watch Britta for the past several years now and I've been impressed with her love for the sport and her balance between her running and academic pursuits," Towne said. "Chico High School has a long history of runners moving on to the college level and having success, and I'm excited to work with Britta on chasing her athletic dreams at the collegiate level."
 
Bundy began her track and field career as a sprinter, notching a 62-second PR in the 400 meters, before turning her attention to longer distances. She won the 3,200-meter league and sub-section titles as a junior before notching an 11:22 PR in what would be the first of two consecutive runner-up finishes in the event at the Northern Section Championships.
 
"I am thrilled about the quality of people and athletes we've been able to bring into the program," Towne said. "All five of these student-athletes have an opportunity to make a tremendous impact on our program and University."
 
The Wildcats open the season on September 13 at the Stump Invitational in Davis. Last season they won their 11^th consecutive California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) title and 15^th in the past 17 years before advancing to the NCAA Championships for the 19^th year in a row thanks to a third-place finish at the West Region Championships. They finished eighth at the NCAA Championships, claiming their 16^th top-10 finish in the last 17 seasons.