Over the years, the Chico State women's track & field team has enjoyed quite a bit of success, with an enviable array of conference titles and All-America performances to show for its outstanding efforts. Veronica Graves intends on keeping it that way during the Wildcats' upcoming 2023 season—and even raising the bar of success in the years to come. Graves has been named the program's new Head Coach, officially announced Wednesday.
"Following the conclusion of a national search, I am pleased to announce that Veronica Graves has been appointed as our new head women's track & field coach," Chico State Executive Director of Athletics Anita Barker said Wednesday. "Veronica brings a passion for the sport and clear vision for the women's track and field program. I am confident her experience as an athlete and coach, coupled with her competitive spirit, will make an immediate impact on the entire program."
Graves takes over the head job after serving for four seasons as a Wildcats assistant coach, training and mentoring decathletes, heptathletes, and hurdlers for the both men's and women's track & field teams.
"To say I'm excited is an understatement," Graves said as she prepares to head up the women's track & field program. "I've wanted this job since 2004. I took jobs at other universities and colleges to work on my craft and gain more experience, but I kept holding on to that dream that someday this opportunity would open. It is literally a dream come true to become Chico State's head women's track & field coach."
Since joining the Wildcats coaching staff in 2018, Graves helped guide numerous Chico State athletes to All-California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) performances, conference individual championships, and All-West Region honors. Graves was a key part of the Chico State coaching staff that steered the men's track & field team to the 2019 CCAA Championship.
She plans on keeping the program's standards at a very high level, and establishing the Chico State women's track & field team as a force both regionally and nationally in 2023.
"I want to get that (CCAA conference championship) banner back home," Graves said. "The banner belongs here in Chico. My other goals are to have as many of our track & field athletes qualify for nationals, go to nationals, and come home All-Americans, and to get people on the (program's) top 10 list and break school records. I want to accomplish these goals with integrity, determination, grit, and power.
"Looking past 2023, I want to keep growing on those goals, but also build a women's program that is professional, respectable, and admired. I want to bring in quality athletes that are going to be powerhouse women in our program, and keep building on the strong foundation that we already have. Not only adding to the legacy, but to do it bigger and better. I want my athletes to know that they're a number one priority, and to strive to leave the program better than when they came in."
Graves brings a wealth of head coaching experience to the Wildcats' program. She served as the head men's and women's track & field head coach from 2014–18 at William Jessup University in Rocklin, where her athletes racked up 12 Golden State Athletic Conference champions and 20 all-conference honors.
From 2013–14, Graves led the women's track & field and cross country programs at Feather River College in Quincy.
Graves actually broke into the coaching ranks as a Wildcats assistant from 2002–04, following an impressive running career at Chico State. For ten years she held the school record in the 400-meter hurdles (and still ranks eighth all-time in the program's history), and was a National Qualifier in both the 400 hurdles and the 1,600-meter relay.
Graves began her collegiate career at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, Oregon.
Graves received her bachelor's degree in physical education at Chico State in 2002, as well as her master's degree in kinesiology in 2011.
