The Chico State women's track & field team made a serious bid to claim the 2022 CCAA Championship banner, and had pre-meet favorite Cal Poly Pomona on the ropes heading into Saturday's third and final day of competition at San Francisco State's Cox Stadium. Scoring wins in four events highlighted another successful day for the Wildcats, but the Broncos—ranked No. 24 in the nation—were able to outpoint the 'Cats Saturday to earn the conference's coveted team title.
Cal Poly Pomona finished with 223 team points, with Chico State finishing second at 167 points. The Wildcats nearly doubled the point total of third place Cal State San Marcos (85 points), and finished well ahead of Cal State LA (69 points) and Cal State San Bernardino (61 points), which finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the team standings.
The Wildcats registered 10 All-CCAA performances on Saturday, along with two NCAA Provisional Qualifying times and nine new personal best marks. There was also some movement in the Chico State record books as the 'Cats kept the pressure on Cal Poly Pomona throughout the final day of conference competition.
Marissa D'Atri scored a pair of CCAA championship performances Saturday, winning both the 3,000-meter steeplechase and the 5,000-meter run. D'Atri's time of 10:31.26 in the steeple not only bettered her existing NCAA Provisional mark by more than 13 seconds, it also goes into the Wildcat record books as the fourth-fastest in the event in program history.
D'Atri later took top honors in the 5k, stopping the clock with a PR time of 17:09.13. Chico State collected 19 team points in the event—D'Atri netted 10 points with the win, Gracie Dupuis added six points and reached the medal podium with a third place finish and a personal best 5k time of 17:21.50, and Hannah Ryan chipped in with three points, placing sixth with a time of 17:39.72.
Chloe Taylor delivered a first place effort in the 400-meter hurdles, earning an NCAA Provisional Qualifying mark with a winning time of 1:01.83. It was a personal best in the event for Taylor, who now owns the third-fastest 400 hurdle time in Chico State history. Taylor's performance netted Chico State 10 team points, with Alexis Hinojosa adding one point with an eighth place 400 hurdle time of 1:09.37, and another point by placing eighth in the 100-meter hurdles (15.53 seconds).
Savannah Bailey turned in an extremely productive day, providing the 'Cats with a total of 14 team points. Bailey earned a pair of All-CCAA medals Saturday, finishing second in the 400-meter dash (55.89 seconds) and third in the 200-meter dash (24.90 seconds). Bailey's time in the 200 is a personal best that also makes her the ninth-fastest in the event in program history.
Bailey and Taylor also had a hand in another 14 Chico State team points. The duo teamed with Danielle Bacon and Taylor Lee to finish second in the 4x400-meter relay—their time of 3:54.44 was the fastest registered by the foursome this season. Bailey, Taylor, Mckenzie Blair, and Nadia Torkman combined to post a third place finish in the 4x100-meter relay, stopping the clock at 47.49 seconds.
Katie Hawley racked up a dozen team points for the Wildcats Saturday, reaching the medal podium with a second place finish in the 1,500-meter run (personal best time of 4:33.60) and a fifth place showing in the 800-meter run (2:18.90).
Early Saturday, Torkman soared above the competition to place first in the high jump, clearing the bar at 1.62 meters and adding 10 team points to the Wildcats' cause. Victoria Vally contributed three points with a season-best high jump mark of 1.52 meters.
Ava Cavallaro and Alana Ochoa combined for seven points in the CCAA Track & Field Championships discus throw. Cavallaro placed fourth and earned five points with a personal best heave of 38.32 meters, while Ochoa finished seventh and tacked on an additional two team points with a mark of 37.26 meters.
Cavallaro was the Wildcats' top finisher in the shot put, placing 10th with a throw of 11.62 meters. Natalie Muse (10.55 meters) finished ninth in the triple jump.
Other notable performances Saturday included Jennifer Ruiz (personal best time of 18:37.37 and a 19th place finish in the 5,000-meter run), Sara Filter (PR shot put mark of 7.88 meters, resulting in a 19th place finish), and Citlalli Fernandez (season-best discus throw of 34.48 meters, netting an 11th place finish).
