[Results] [Photo gallery]
Chico State finished just three points short of a perfect score en route to its 21st consecutive CCAA men's cross country championship. Wildcats cross the finish line in the top four positions, with junior
Dylan White leading the way in a time of 24:41.9.
Mario Giannini,
Daniel Hernandez, and
Brayden McLaughlin finished second through fourth, and
Hunter Dougherty wrapped up Chico State's conference title with his eighth-place finish at Quarry Lake Regional Park in Fremont.
It was
Cal Poly Pomona that took second place with 41 points. Halfway through the race, it looked as though it might be the team to finally end Chico's winning streak, which stretches back to 2022. The Broncos took control of the race early with their runners pacing the pack for the first 4k. Then Chico State's student-athletes started to work their way up the pack.
With 2k remaining, the Wildcats began to separate on the course and the leaderboard. White, Giannini and Dougherty all gained spots in the final split and were able to bump a few Bronco runners down. However, no one was assured of another Wildcats win until they saw Dougherty, the fifth runner cross the line.
Chico State needed each of those places as Cal Poly Pomona took fifth and sixth and occupied spots No. 9-12 on the final leaderboard. They were the first team to have six runners finish.
Dylan White became the third consecutive Chico State student-athlete to earn CCAA Runner of the Year honors, joining current and former teammates
Brayden McLaughlin and
Rory Abberton. White is the 14th individual champion for the Wildcats in the past 15 seasons.
Giannini earned CCAA Newcomer of the Year with a second-place finish in a time of 24:46.6. The Chico native did not run for the team last season but made an impact in his first CCAA Championships as he was never below fourth place on any of the four splits.
Stanislaus State's Nate Olsen earned the honor of 2023 CCAA Freshman of the Year. He finished 33rd and had the best time of any true freshman in the field with a mark of 26:20.6.
He helped Stanislaus State collect 113 team points to finish in third place, 11 points better than
Cal Poly Humboldt (124 points). The Lumberjacks'
James Woolery was the only runner among the two teams to earn All-CCAA honors. The Warriors earned their best conference finish since 2007 by grouping its runners in spots No. 19-33. The 2022 Freshman of the Year
Cooper Freeman led the way with a 19th-place finish as Olsen placed 33rd.
Cal State San Marcos finished fifth with a score of 130.
Renton McGregor earned All-CCAA honors with a 15th-place finish. Host
Cal State East Bay finished sixth (176) and placed
Cole McKain on the All-CCAA team as the junior placed sixth in a time of 25:07.02.
Six Broncos and six Wildcats earned all-conference honors as they were 12 of the first 15 in the final results.
Joshua O'Neill joined his teammates White, Giannini, Hernandez, McLaughlin and Dougherty on the award stage.
Daniel Echeveste, Leandro Candray, Francisco Zavaleta, Vincent Sarino, Ricardo Vargas and
Thomas McDonnell all collected All-CCAA honors for Cal Poly Pomona.
The Elite 13 Award went to Cal State San Marcos' Business Administration major
Nick Melanese.
Teams will now turn their attention to the NCAA West Regional on Nov. 4 in Monmouth, Ore. All teams can participate in the meet but only a few will advance to the NCAA Championships on Nov. 18 in Joplin, Mo.
| 2023 CCAA Men's Cross Country Championships |
| Place |
Team |
Score |
| 1 |
Chico State |
18 (1-2-3-4-8-13*-17*) |
| 2 |
Cal Poly Pomona |
41 (5-6-9-10-11-12*-21*) |
| 3 |
Stanislaus State |
113 (19-22-26-30-33-35*-51*) |
| 4 |
Cal Poly Humboldt |
124 (14-23-31-34-39-41*-56*) |
| 5 |
San Marcos |
130 (15-29-32-36-38-42*-43*) |
| 6 |
Cal St. East Bay |
176 (7-40-46-55-57-61*-62*) |
| 7 |
Cal State Monterey Bay |
179 (27-37-44-48-52-63*-65*) |
| 8 |
San Francisco St. |
208 (16-49-54-59-72*-73*) |
| 9 |
Cal St. Los Angeles |
281 (60-64-78-79-80-81*-82*) |
| 2023 CCAA Men's Cross Country Awards |
| Runner of Year |
Dylan White, Chico State |
| Newcomer of the Year |
Mario Giannini, Chico State |
| Freshman of the Year |
Nate Olsen, Stanislaus State |
| Coach of the Year |
Gary Towne, Chico State |
| Elite 13 |
Nick Melanese, Cal State San Marcos |
| 2023 CCAA Men's Cross Country All-Conference Team |
| Place |
Name |
Team |
Time |
| 1 |
Dylan White |
Chico State |
24:41.9 |
| 2 |
Mario Giannini |
Chico State |
24:46.6 |
| 3 |
Daniel Hernandez |
Chico State |
24:47.9 |
| 4 |
Brayden McLaughlin |
Chico State |
24:48.9 |
| 5 |
Daniel Echeveste |
Cal Poly Pomona |
24:54.2 |
| 6 |
Leandro Candray |
Cal Poly Pomona |
24:58.2 |
| 7 |
Cole McKain |
Cal St. East Bay |
25:07.2 |
| 8 |
Hunter Dougherty |
Chico State |
25:08.8 |
| 9 |
Francisco Zavaleta |
Cal Poly Pomona |
25:09.0 |
| 10 |
Vincent Sarino |
Cal Poly Pomona |
25:13.8 |
| 11 |
Ricardo Vargas |
Cal Poly Pomona |
25:16.6 |
| 12 |
Thomas McDonnell |
Cal Poly Pomona |
25:16.9 |
| 13 |
Joshua O'Neill |
Chico State |
25:21.1 |
| 14 |
James Woolery |
Cal Poly Humboldt |
25:26.4 |
| 15 |
Renton McGregor |
San Marcos |
25:27.4 |