CHICO---  For their second time in their collegiate careers, Zuleima Bernal and Paxton Cota earned All-California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) honors by placing in the top 15 this morning in the 2013 CCAA Championships at Hooker Oak Park in Chico, Calif.  Bernal finished in 5^th place and Cota was 10^th. 
 
Chico State captured its fifth consecutive team title by having four of the top 10 finishers led by Aylla Granadas who won the 6K race with a time of 22:10.9.  Cal State Stanislaus finished second with 77 points followed by Cal Poly Pomona (3^rd, 118 points), UC San Diego (4^th, 123 points) and Cal State L.A. (5^th, 156 points).
 
Rounding out of the field were:  6. Humboldt State (159 points), 7: SF State (166 points), 8. Cal State San Bernardino (183 points), 9. Cal State East Bay (191 points), 10. Cal State Monterey Bay (210 points) and 11. Sonoma State (339 points). 
 
Bernal ran a fifth place time of 22:26.9 to finish in fifth place, just .9 seconds behind fourth place Sabrina Lopez of Cal State L.A. and 8 seconds behind third place Rachel Naranjo of Cal State Stanislaus.  Finishing in second place was Chico State's Sarah Mikesell with a time of 24:50.6.   Back in 2011 in Santa Rosa, the Gator senior finished n fourth place with a time of 21:30.10 at the CCAA Championships to earn her first All-CCAA honors and be named the 2011 CCAA Newcomer of the Year.
 
Cota also earned her second All-CCAA honors as she finished in 10^th place with a time of 22:47.1.  The Gator junior earned all-conference honors in 2011 as she finished in 14^th place at the CCAA Championships with a time of 21:57.80. 
 
Kaylie Belk was the next Gator to cross the finish line with a 43^rd place time of 23:43.7 with Alicia Trujillo crossing the line next with a 55^th place time of 24:09.2.  Rounding out the top five for SF State, who is currently 8^th in the USTFCCCA West Region rankings, was Becky Parks with a 67^th place time of 24:33.8.
 
"The women ran a very strategic race in a very competitive field. Zuleima (Bernal) and Paxton (Cota) had exceptional performances, both earning All-CCAA honors for the second time in their careers,” noted SF State assistant coach Brittany Garrett.  “ Kaylie (Belk), Alicia (Trujillo) and Becky (Parks) had great finishes, staying strong through the last half of the race.”

Lindsey Ragas and Rocio Pacheco Garcia also ran for the Gators this morning and placed 74^th (24:55) and 87^th (25:40) respectively. 

Ayla Granados was named the CCAA Runner of the Year and Haley Kroll also of Chico State was selected as the Newcomer of the Year.  Earning Freshman of the Year honors was Cal State East Bay's Sarah Perrin.  Gary Towne of Chico State was named the CCAA Coach of the Year.
 
"During the race Kaylie (Belk) and I worked really well together to move up through the field,” said SF State runner Alicia Trujillo.  “Throughout the next two weeks as a team we will take that teamwork strategy and work together to continue moving up in the field at regionals."

SF State will now prepare for the 2013 NCAA Division II West Regional Championships that will be held at the Plantes Ferry Athletic Complex in Spokane, Wash., on Saturday, November 9^th with the 6K race scheduled to begin at 10:30am.  This will be the same course that the NCAA Division II National Championships will be run on two weeks later on November 23. 
 
2013 CCAA Women's Cross Country Results

CCAA Women's Cross Country Championship Page