WALNUT CREEK — The 2009 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships are scheduled to take place Saturday, Oct. 24, at Beau Pre Golf Course in McKinleyville.

The women's 6-kilometer race is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. and the men's 8-kilometer run is slated for 9:45 a.m.

Chico State enters as the defending champion in both the men's and women's events after capturing the 2008 titles in San Bernardino.

Cal State L.A.'s Vivien Wadeck returns as the 2008 individual women's champion, while Chico State junior Brendan Scanlon is the top individual returning on the men's side after finishing second behind All-American teammate and NCAA Champion Scott Bauhs a year ago.

The Wildcat women have won five of the last seven CCAA titles and the Chico State men are on a run of eight straight conference championships.

Leading the way for the Cal Sate Stanislaus women are Denali Foldager and Rubye Foldager. Denali has led the team in every race this year and is coming off a 10th place finish at the regional preview meet two weeks ago in San Francisco.

The Stanislaus women finished sixth at last year's CCAA Championship in San Bernardino.

The Chico State women, under the leadership of head coach Gary Towne enter the CCAA Championships as the nation's top-ranked team. The Wildcats are led by senior Tori Tyler, juniors Kara Lubieniecki, Shannon McVannel and Colleen Joyce, and sophomores Alia Gray, Stephanie Consiglio and Colleen Joyce.

All seven earned All-CCAA honors in 2008 after finishing among the top 15 runners at last year's conference championships.

UC San Diego (No. 5), Cal State L.A. (No. 6) and Cal Poly Pomona (No. 7) are all ranked in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) West Region Top 10.

The Chico State men's team also enters the CCAA Championships as the top-ranked team in the field as it ranked No. 3 nationally and first in the West Region. Cal Poly Pomona (3), Humboldt State (6) and UC San Diego (8) are also ranked among the West Region's Top 10.

The Warriors men's team is led by returning All-CCAA runner Joey Nunes. Nunes came in 36th at the regional preview meet with teammate Shane Brookshire in 52nd.

As a team, the Warriors finished fifth in San Bernardino in 2008.