Mario Giannini's final cross country season began with another addition to his growing list of accolades.
Giannini was named the CCAA Men's Cross Country Runner of the Week for the fourth time in his career after capturing the individual title and leading Chico State to the team championship at Friday's Saint Mary's Invitational in Concord.
The senior covered the 7,853-meter course in 23:03.7, finishing 1.9 seconds ahead of Saint Mary's Joseph O'Connell. His victory led a Wildcat group that placed five runners among the top 13 and seven inside the top 19 as Chico State scored just 30 points, finishing 52 points ahead of runner-up Saint Mary's.
The men's race included three programs ranked in the USTFCCCA's preseason Division I West Region top 15,  No. 9 UCLA, No. 14 California and No. 15 Saint Mary's. Giannini beat the field outright.
The performance also continued the momentum from the best track season of Giannini's career. Last spring, he lowered his 5,000-meter best to 14:05.34 and ran 29:04.56 for 10,000 meters before placing sixth in the 10,000 at the NCAA Division II Championships to earn First Team All-America honors.
Giannini carried that fitness into Friday while taking a patient approach early. He sat 19th at the opening checkpoint before steadily moving through the field and eventually taking the lead. After O'Connell made a late move, Giannini erased the gap over the closing stages and pulled away in the finishing straight for the victory.
Friday's win added to a cross country résumé that already includes back-to-back CCAA individual championships, the 2024 NCAA West Region individual title and All-America honors.
With the season opener behind him, Giannini is already looking forward to Chico State's next opportunity to race.
"I'm excited," Giannini said. "I'm excited to get on some grass, put some spikes on and just race again."
The Wildcats return to action in two weeks, competing at the Bill Dellinger Invitational in Eugene, Oregon, and the San Francisco State Invitational.
