CHICO, Calif. — Chico State Women's Cross Country entered the 2026 recruiting cycle looking to build a strong freshman class. By the time the roster came together, the Wildcats had accomplished that, and then added a little more than they originally expected.
Six freshmen form the foundation of Chico State's incoming class, a group featuring a top-five CIF State finisher, section and league champions, school-record holders, and runners from California to New York. Then came three experienced transfers, each of whom independently reached out to Chico State with interest in joining the program.
The result is a nine-woman class that Head Coach Gary Towne believes can make a lasting impact.
"We recruited a very strong group of 6 from a variety of high schools that we felt represented one of the better classes that we've brought in. Then, late in the year we had 3 women from other schools reach out with interest and it worked out that we were able to add them to the already talented class."Â
Â
A Strong Freshman Foundation
At the front of the freshman class is
Maya Schiro of Aptos High School, whose senior season established her as one of Northern California's top distance runners.
Schiro steadily climbed through the ranks during her high school career, going from 64th at the CIF State Cross Country Championships as a sophomore to 45th as a junior before breaking through with a fifth-place finish in Division IV as a senior.
Her 17:36.2 at Woodward Park ranks among the fastest times ever recorded on the State Championship course by an incoming Chico State women's recruit. On the track, she added personal bests of 5:09.47 for 1600 meters and 10:52.23 for 3200.
Schiro also arrives with an existing connection to the Wildcat program. Former Chico State All-American Dayne Gradone, an Aptos graduate himself, was part of the Aptos coaching staff during her senior year.
Towne believes Schiro's strength should translate particularly well as the distances increase at the collegiate level.
"Maya comes in with a really good background and a lot of strength," Towne said. "We know that she's going to fit in well with these longer distances, both on the track and in cross country."
Two more freshmen will make the move from Placer High School together.
Riley Anderson was part of three Placer teams that advanced to the CIF State Cross Country Championships during her first three seasons and made a significant jump as a junior, running 18:52.8 at Woodward Park.
She appeared ready for another step forward entering her senior year. Anderson ran an 11:18 personal best for 3200 meters early in the fall, but an injury shortly afterward disrupted the remainder of her final cross country season. She arrives in Chico with much of that senior-year potential still untapped.
Longtime teammate
Elise Bergqvist brings impressive range of her own. Bergqvist was part of four consecutive Placer teams that reached the State Championships and showed throughout high school that she could contribute across a wide variety of distances.
On the track, she owns personal bests of 60.37 for 400 meters, 2:16.49 for 800, 5:08.00 for 1600, and 11:22 for 3200, and captured the SJS Division III 800-meter championship as a senior. During cross country, she ran 17:40.7 at the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic.
That combination of speed and endurance gives Bergqvist one of the broadest event ranges in the incoming group. She and Anderson will now continue at Chico State after spending their high school careers training and competing alongside one another.
For
Veronica Bell, joining the Wildcats carries a family connection as well.
Bell arrives in Chico after prepping at Mt Carmel High in San Diego, and her uncle (Dan Olmstead) was the conference 10,000m champion for CSUC in 1994, while Towne has known Bell's family since well before she began her own running career.
While at Mt Carmel, Bell developed a reputation in high school for producing some of her best performances when the championship portion of the season arrived. She ran 18:24 at the CIF State Cross Country Championships and owns track bests of 5:19 in the 1600 and 11:01.20 in the 3200.
"I've followed Veronica's journey through high school running in part due to the fact that I've known her family for so many years. It's so fun to now have Veronica as a part of our Wildcat family, and I'm excited to see what she can do as she grows into the program."
Alice McCarty of Newark Memorial High School adds another strong long-distance runner to the freshman group.
As a sophomore, McCarty broke a 3200-meter school record that had stood for roughly 40 years. She continued lowering the mark throughout her high school career, eventually running 10:57.41.
McCarty also became a two-time MVAL cross country champion, placed fourth at the NCS Championships, and advanced to the CIF State Championships. Her best at Woodward Park came at the Clovis Invitational, where she ran 18:36.8.
Then there is
Abigail Lamb, whose route to Chico was unlike anyone else in the class.
Chico State does most of its recruiting within California and rarely ventures beyond the West Coast. Lamb, however, found the Wildcats herself.
The Amherst Central standout reached out to the program with significant interest and ultimately chose to make the move across the country from New York to Northern California.
Lamb was the 2024 Section VI Class B cross country champion, competed at the New York State Championships three times, and owns an 18:55.8 cross country 5K best. On the track, she has run 4:53.59 for 1500 meters and 10:37.53 for 3000.
Towne believes those marks don't fully capture the runner Chico State is getting. He noted the difficulty of consistently producing fast times in areas where weather and racing conditions can be unpredictable, saying Lamb's performances on paper "don't do her justice" and that she's already showing signs of gaining her footing within a very competitive collegiate team."
Lamb ended her high school career with some of her strongest performances, including a late-season personal best in the 3000 meters. Now, after taking the initiative to find Chico State from across the country, she'll make the coast-to-coast move to continue her career as a Wildcat.
Three Transfers Add Even More Depth
The six freshmen already gave Chico State a class Towne and his staff felt strongly about. The late addition of three four-year transfers made the group even deeper.
Perhaps the most recognizable of them to local distance-running fans is
Mattie Whipple.
Before competing at Fresno Pacific, Whipple was one of the Northern Section's dominant prep distance runners at Yreka High School
.
"Mattie was really the queen of the Northern Section in the distance events when she was at Yreka," Towne said.
Whipple won Northern Section championships in the 800, 1600 and 3200 meters, established Yreka school records in all three events, and finished 11th at the CIF State Cross Country Championships.
Chico State had interest in Whipple coming out of high school, but she ultimately began her collegiate career at Fresno Pacific. There, she continued developing into an accomplished Division II middle-distance runner, lowering her personal bests to 2:10.58 for 800 meters and 4:33.37 for 1500.
Now she returns north as a junior, and as an athlete already familiar to many within the Chico and Northern Section running communities.
"Watching her get away to Fresno was tough because we tried to reach out," Towne said. "But as things worked out, she's on our roster now. She's very motivated and fit, and we're really excited to see what the next few years have for her."
Lucy Varela also returns to California after beginning her collegiate career at Northern Colorado.
Varela comes from a strong distance background at El Toro High School, where she helped the Chargers win the 2024 CIF Division II State Cross Country Championship, the first State title in program history.
Her high school bests include 2:22 in the 800, 5:01.75 in the 1600 and 11:12.56 in the 3200.
After navigating coaching changes during her time at Northern Colorado, Varela sought out Chico State as a potential new home.
"I think it's going to be a great fit for her," Towne said. "She comes from a really good background at El Toro."
The third transfer is already familiar with the CCAA.
Reese Colton moves north after beginning her collegiate career at fellow CCAA member Cal State Monterey Bay.
Colton made substantial progress during her freshman year, running 4:50.96 for 1500 meters and 18:00.61 for 5000, the latter establishing a CSUMB freshman program record.
Towne has been particularly impressed by the development she showed during that first collegiate season.
"Reese has been really solid and made some really big jumps from high school to Monterey Bay," Towne said. "She's a student of the sport, and we're excited to see what she can do as she grows into our program and continues to develop from her work ethic."
Built for the Years Ahead
Chico State's incoming class offers both depth and plenty of room to grow. The six freshmen give the Wildcats a strong group to develop together, while the three transfers bring added experience and a different perspective from their previous collegiate programs.
There are athletes in the group capable of helping immediately and others whose best running may still be ahead of them. For Towne, that combination makes this a class with the potential to have an impact well beyond its first season in Chico.
"Across the board, it's a really solid group of incoming freshmen and a nice mix with the transfers," Towne said. "I feel like this is going to be a group of recruits that does a lot in their time here at Chico State."
Â
