EMPORIA, Kansas - Mario Giannini became an NCAA first-team All-American for the first time in his collegiate track career Thursday night, highlighting Chico State men's track & field's opening day at the Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Francis G. Welch Stadium.
The Wildcats also saw Damian Garcia advance to Saturday's national final in the men's 1,500 meters, while Brody Staley narrowly missed qualifying for the final in the men's 400-meter preliminaries.
Giannini capped Chico State's evening with a sixth-place finish in the men's 10,000 meters, crossing the line in 29:35.11 to earn All-America honors. The race unfolded under overcast twilight skies after threatening weather lingered throughout much of the day in Emporia. The junior entered the national meet ranked seventh nationally after posting a season-best 29:04.56 earlier this spring, a mark that ranks fourth in Chico State history.
Earlier in the day, Garcia delivered one of the top performances of the preliminary rounds in the men's 1,500 meters. Rain began to fall before Garcia and the field settled into position for the start, but it did not impact the race. Facing the pressure of having the fastest time in the event this season, Garcia opened the race in the middle of the pack entering the first turn before quickly moving into third during the opening lap. Garcia climbed into second on the third turn and stayed near the front as the tightly packed field battled through the middle stages of the race. The pace remained crowded entering the final stretch, but Garcia's closing sprint helped him secure second place in his heat at 3:49.09 — just 0.09 seconds behind heat winner Dylan Sprecker of Pittsburg State. Garcia's time ranked second overall among all preliminary qualifiers and earned him a spot in Saturday's national final at 1:55 p.m. Pacific Time. The opening heat proved to be one of the deepest races of the day, with the top six runners separated by only 0.20 seconds.
Staley represented Chico State in the men's 400-meter preliminaries later in the evening. Competing in Heat 2, the junior finished fifth in 46.93 and placed 14th overall nationally, narrowly missing advancement into Saturday's final. Staley entered the NCAA Championships ranked 18th nationally after breaking Chico State's school record with a 46.56 at the CCAA Championships earlier this month.
Despite missing the individual final, Staley will return to the track Friday as part of Chico State's 4x400-meter relay team alongside Logan Cole, Harrison Hubbard and Trey Suffredini.
Up Next
Chico State continues competition Friday at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Garcia will race in the men's 800-meter preliminaries at 4 p.m. Pacific Time after entering the meet ranked 12th nationally with his school-record 1:48.23. Later in the evening, Chico State's 4x400-meter relay team of Staley, Cole, Hubbard and Suffredini will compete in the national preliminaries at 5:50 p.m. Pacific Time. The Wildcats qualified for the NCAA Championships with a season-best 3:08.92, the third-fastest time in program history.
