Complete Results
For the eighth consecutive year, the Chico State Men’s Cross Country team has captured the NCAA Division II West Region Championship.
Led by regional champion Mario Giannini, the Wildcats placed six runners in the top 15 to once again dominate at Amend Park in Billings, Mont. The victory marks the fifth straight time Chico State has won the regional title in the past 10 years on this course with banners from 2014, 2016, 2018, 2022 and now 2024.
The No. 6 nationally ranked Wildcats scored 40 points, ahead of GNAC champion Western Washington (54) and PacWest runner-up Biola (137). Cal Poly Pomona was fourth (147), followed by Azusa Pacific (149) and Stanislaus State (198).
Giannini, who won the CCAA championship two weeks ago in Fresno, took over the lead in the 10,000-meter race when he checked in at the 7.6k mark. The sophomore from Chico, Calif., clocked in at 30:25.53, five seconds ahead of Western Washington’s Ryan Clough.
Also scoring in the top 15 for Chico State were 2023 CCAA champion Dylan White (30:33.92), Matthew Gordon (30:47.11), Brayden McLaughlin (31:02.30), Damian Garcia (31:05.36) and Daniel Hernandez (31:07.24). Other Top 25 finishers from the CCAA who also received All-Region honors were Leandro Candray (Cal Poly Pomona), Thomas McDonnell (Cal Poly Pomona), Sankalp Shastri (Cal State San Marcos) and Abe Alsaidi (Stanislaus State).
The top three teams, Chico State, Western Washington and Biola have advanced to the
NCAA Division II Championships on Nov. 23 in Sacramento.
Cal Poly Pomona finished fourth and will have an opportunity to earn an at-large selection to the NCAA Championships. The Broncos placed two in the top 25, and five finished in the top 50 to earn 147 team points. CPP has made four of the past five NCAA Championships, and it will learn if its season will continue when the NCAA announces the at-large selections on Monday, Nov. 11.
Stanislaus State finished sixth at the regional with 197 points. Abe Alsaidi led the Warriors placing 25th with a time of 31:22.0 to earn the final all-region honor. The 2024 CCAA Newcomer of the Year Tanner Gerhart finished 30th and Jackson Oliveira was 40th. The Warriors will also have an opportunity to be selected as an at-large team when the NCAA Selection Release comes out on Monday.
Cal State San Marcos finished 13th with 313 points and Cal Poly Humboldt placed 15th with 356 points. Cal State East Bay (493) and Cal State Monterey Bay (497) finished 17th and 18th, respectively. San Francisco State (21st) and Cal State LA (22nd) rounded out the field for the CCAA in the NCAA Men's Cross Country West Regional.
Chico State, and possibly Cal Poly Pomona and Stanislaus State, will have the opportunity to compete in the NCAA Division Championships on Nov. 23 in Sacramento. CPP and Stan State will learn their postseason fate on Monday, while Chico State has already earned an automatic bid.