TURLOCK, Calif. - In the season's first race, the Wildcats congest the front of the pack and take home the top spot in their campaign back to the NCAA Championships. Lining up against familiar faces across the west region, the 'Cats had all seven runners steal spots in the top 10.
The start gun was well past sunset on the West Coast, and the runners had a chance to experience a race like none other, with lights outlining their eventual path to a dominant victory. The Wildcats finished with a compiled score of 21, Stanislaus State followed with 39, San Francisco State earned 96 points, and future CCAA members UC Merced finished fourth with 115 points. De Anza, Jessup, and Dominican filed in for the remaining three spots.
Leading the pack of runners were Chico natives Della and Iresh Molina, the pair putting enough distance between the rest of the runners throughout the six-kilometer race and taking home the top two spots in a tie. Their impressive time was 20.38.1, stepping over the finish line simultaneously. Della set a new personal best time, beating her previous best set at the 2023 NCAA Championships last fall; Iresh was two seconds behind, tying her personal best set at the same race.
Jasmine Fletcher crossed the line in sixth with a time of 21.52.3, a record-setting race for the sophomore. She beat her previously set best of 22:44.0, which she set at the Cougar Challenge last season.
Hannah Wirth finished in 7th at 21:53.7, while Sophie Pelletier and Sienna Bianchi followed in eighth and ninth.
Marbella Flores, Jaclyn Denham, and Zoe Aitken ran unattached for Chico State but ran incredibly well, finishing in the top 20.
The Wildcats will travel north to Bellingham, Washington, to participate in the Bill Roe Classic hosted by Western Washington on September 28th.
KIM DUYST INVITATIONAL
Hosted by Stanislaus State
Chico State Results
1. Della Molina
2. Iresh Molina
6. Jasmine Fletcher
7. Hannah Wirth
8. Sophie Pelletier
9. Sienna Bianchi
12. Marbella Flores
15. Jaclyn Denham
19. Zoe Aitken
27. Jennifer Ruiz
29. Olivia Beschorner
34. Grace Reed
40. Sidney Garcia
56. Maleah Wilson
Team Scoring
Chico State - 21
Stanislaus State - 39
San Francisco State - 96
UC Merced - 115
De Anza - 148
Jessup - 168
Dominican - 185
