CHICO, Calif. – Last year, then-freshman Damian Garcia posted the sixth fastest time in the men's mile in NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field history.
 
Now in the middle of his sophomore season, he moved further up the rankings.
 
Garcia, the reigning FloCollege/CCAA Track Athlete of the Week, headlined the Chico Invitational & Distance Carnival on a perfect weekend by making his second career appearance in the mile, this time running in 4:01.88 on his home track to post the fourth fastest time in NCAA Division II Men's Outdoor Track & Field history. He came up merely two seconds short from catching Wildcat great Scott Bauh's 3:59.81 set in 2008, which is the second fastest in Division II history.
 
Vincent Rinaldi earned his first NCAA provisional as an individual by running in 21.16 seconds in the 200-meter dash. Despite the provisional mark, he is outside the top 40 time in Division II. Rinaldi also came up 0.18 seconds short from the school record he set in 2023.
 
Also earning provisional numbers were Justin Craven and Jose Sandoval in the pole vault. Craven reached 4.95 meters to match last week's result at the Brutus Hamilton Multis, which is 15^th best across the nation as well as the 10^th best in program history. Sandoval recorded 4.85 meters to move into a crowded 22^nd spot.
 
Chance Hefter upgraded his provisional mark in the shot put, throwing for 16.70 meters to move him to 24^th in the nation. He also won the event by a 0.30 meters.
 
Hefter also took the win in the discus throw, reaching 51.04 meters to tie his current provisional set last week at the Stanford Invitational. He came into the week ranked 28^th in the event.
 
The relay team of Willshawn Rusthon-Grisby, Vincent Rinaldi, Brody Staley and Jordan Caliz ran a 41.11 second performance in the 4x100 meter relay, posting the seventh fastest time in program history.
 
Much like the Bay Area trip a week ago, Chico State will split up again next weekend. The Wildcats will be represented at the prestigious Bryan Clay Invitational at Azusa Pacific, the Leopard Invitational at La Verne, the Beach Invitational at Long Beach State and the Black and Gold Invitational in nearby Butte.