JOPLIN, Missouri - After a thrilling NCAA West Regional race in Monmouth, the Chico State women's threw their name into the mix of the nation's best, participating in the NCAA DII National Championships on Saturday. After a third-place finish at the West Regionals, the Wildcats were the top-ranked West Region program, finishing ahead of Western Washington and Biola.
Two Wildcats earned All-American honors after top-40 finishes in Joplin, Della, and Iresh Molina. Both sisters have been the fastest 'Cats throughout their sophomore seasons, and both ran personal best 6K races to earn their first All-American performances of their careers.
Irish Molina finished in 31st with a time of 20:36, shaving 22 seconds off of her previous personal best set over a year ago in Santa Clara. Her West Regional race was rocky, but through grit, she battled her way back from a minor setback to climb into 18th and earn All-West Region honors alongside her sister.
Della Molina finished just six places back in 37th, crossing the line with a time of 20:40, beating her recently set personal best at West Regionals by fourteen seconds. She had a consistent race, picking off runners in front of her slowly but with aggression, clawing her way up from 63rd after the first mile into her top-50 finish.
Coming in third for the team and recording a personal best was Jacqueline Cascione. In her career's first-ever NCAA National Championship race, she clocked an impressive time of 21:26, finishing in 83rd. She began her race in 114th, pushing herself through the clusters of runners to finish in the top 100 runners in Division II.
Following in fourth place is Sophie Pelletier, who finished in 159th with a time of 22:09.0, just ahead of teammate Gracie Dupuis, who was only four seconds behind Pelletier.
Jaclyn Derham and Hannah Wirth rounded out the finishers for the Wildcats in 179th and 199th, respectively.
After four meet wins this season, the Chico State women's cross-country squad has added more success to their outstanding program, including another CCAA conference title and two more All-American runners.
