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Notable Cross Country Awards
• All-American (2023, 2024)
• All-West Region (2023, 2024)
• All-CCAA (2023, 2024)
- NCAA West Regional Champion (2024) |
Team
- CCAA Champion (2024) |
Ind.
- CCAA Champion (2023, 2024) |
Team
As a Junior - XC (2024)
- Raced in all six meets
- Finished in 32nd at the NCAA DII Cross Country Championships with a time of 21:19.6.
- Earned All-West Region honors after finishing 4th at the NCAA DII West Region Championships.
- Claimed the 1st place finish at the CCAA Championships with a 21:11.9 race
- Clocked a career best (6K) at the Kim Duyst Twilight XC Invite of 20:38.1 all while winning the race.
As a Sophomore - XC (2023)
- Raced all six meets
- Earned All-America accolades after finishing 37th overall at the NCAA Championships in a season-best 20:40.6 (6k)
- Made All-West Region after taking fourth overall at NCAA Regionals in 20:54.2 (6k)
- Earned All-CCAA following a fourth-place finish at conference championships in 21:21.7 (6k)
- Placed third at the Cal State San Marcos Cougar Challenge in 20:57.0 (6k)
- Made 5k debut at Ash Creek Collegiate Invite, running in 18:01.3 for fourth place
As a Freshman - XC (2022)
- Ran in 5 meets
- Placed 92nd overall at the NCAA Championships, running a 21:58.3
- Placed 27th overall at the NCAA West Regional, running a 21:53.7
- Finished 18th overall at the CCAA Championships with a time of 22:41.7
- Turned in a season-best 20:58.1 in th 6K at the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational
Pre-Chico Days
- Joins the Wildcats along with her twin sister Iresh as one of the most decorated distance runners in Northern Section history
- On the cross country trails won six of the 11 races that she contested during her senior year at Chico High School, including the season-opening Bill Springhorn Invitational (three-mile time of 17:53)
- Holds the Panthers school record in the 1,600m and 3-mile cross country runs
- Was the lone athlete to break the 19 minute barrier at the Chico Autumn Invitational
- Won the Eastern Athletic League individual 5k title and took second to her sister in the three-mile run at the Northern Section championships
- Concluded the fall season with a 16th place run at the State Championships, where she turned in one of the fastest state meet performances ever by a Northern Section athlete, registering a personal best 5k time of 18:32.3
- On the track, raced in only four meets before injury took her out of the remainder of her senior year of competition
- Posted a PR time and set a new Chico High record on the way to taking top honors in the 1,600m run at Rocklin High School’s Thunder Invitational, stopping the clock at 5:08.7
- Wrapped up the 2022 track & field season with an 11:00.3 3,200m PR, ranking her as the ninth-best performer in the event in Northern Section history.
Personal
- Born January 22, in Chico
- Daughter of Forough Molina
- Has three siblings: Sondae, Andris, and twin sister (and Wildcats teammate) Iresh
- Her mom is her hero (“She is the most selfless, loving, and giving person that I’ve ever known, and I hope to become a lot like her in that way. She is also super strong in every way, and thinks about sports in a very healthy way, which has made my experiences with sports less about being competitive in a spiteful and negative way, and more about being competitive because it’s fun and satisfying to see hard work pay off”)
- The person she most admires in the sports world is triathlete Julie Moss (“She epitomizes willpower and determination”)
- Chose to attend Chico State “mainly for the cross country team. I so badly have wanted to be on it ever since I can remember thinking about running on a team, and I love every minute of it. I also chose Chico because the kinesiology and exercise physiology programs are wonderful, and because I am in close proximity to my mom”
- Her two favorite professors at Chico have been Ed Pluth for Intro to Philosophy and Jessica Cross for Basic Drawing for the way they've been able to expand her mind and introduce new perspective into her life
- Her greatest sports moment was participating in the 2023 NCAA Cross Country Regionals Meet ("It was the most unyielding and focused I have ever felt in a race yet. That race did not produce my all time PR, but I was proud of the effort throughout the race, and especially the kick at the end, during which I couldn't hear anything and my legs felt like they were trying to get away from the rest of my body.")
- The most interesting thing she’s ever done is play
Monopoly for 10 hours straight (“Our main snack choice was powdered sugar mixed with granulated sugar in a bowl”)
- The most impressive thing she’s ever accomplished was reading a whole book every day of summer 2017
- Has learned by competing in distance running that “everything is better when you sleep adequately. Also, you can do more than you’ve ever dreamed of through hard work”
- Enjoys reading historical fiction, Greek myths, and making birthday cards when she has some free time
- Her biggest talent outside of running is “probably drawing or reading fast”
- Claims she can say the Preamble to the Constitution really fast
- At the top of her bucket list: “I want to put fairy houses in random places so people become more likely to believe in magic. I also want to be All American in Cross Country and Track”
- Best advice ever received came from her sister Iresh who simply told her to "appreciate", which has been enough to give her perspective at any time
- Majoring in Kinesiology
- Expected to graduate in 2026 and plans to either become a physical therapist or kinesiology teacher, become a professional runner, or follow her other passion of becoming an author
