(L-R) Helena Janku, Eric Jackson, Camden Jaureguy and Elena Stanciu
Photo by: UCSC Track and Field
Cross Country celebrates after record-breaking 2023
12/15/2023 10:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
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The University of California Santa Cruz Cross Country program announced its team awards for the 2023 season at its annual awards ceremony last Sunday afternoon. There was much to celebrate as the Banana Slugs had another record setting season with a sweep of the Coast-to-Coast Conference (C2C) Championships for the third year in a row, the women's team qualified for the NCAA Championship for the second consecutive year, and the men's team produced the program's first All-American since 1982.
The women repeated for the third time as C2C Conference Champions. They earned seven First-Team Honorees (Helena Janku, Elena Stanciu, Hanna Hekkanen, Riley Martel-Phillips, Kenzie Seymour, Cheryl Chuang, Frieda Cedillo) and four Second-Team Honorees (Faith Dyogi, Luna Centeno, Andrea Gallardo, Emma Wirz) for a program record total of 11 All-Conference Honorees. Three women earned All-Region Honors (Janku 9th, Martel-Phillips 27th, and Hekkanen 34th) to place fourth as a team at the NCAA West Regional Championships. These performances solidified the women's team's place among the top 32 teams in the country at the NCAA National Championships for the second consecutive year, and the second trip to the NCAA National Championships in school history.
UCSC's 2023 NCAA Participants (L-R) Janku, Hekkanen, Stanciu, Centeno, Chuang, Dyogi, Seymour, Jackson
The men also repeated as C2C Conference Champions for the third time, earning five First-Team (Eric Jackson, Casey Orton, Raymond Ingersoll, Luke Holland, Eric Anderson) and five Second-Team honors (Camden Jaureguy, Holden Spencer, Camden Hebert, Nick Sciole, Dylan Cronin) for a total of 10 All-Conference Honorees. At the NCAA West Regionals, the men placed fifth overall with a total of four All-Region Honorees (Jackson eighth, Holland 23rd, Anderson 29th, and Ingersoll 33rd). Eric Jackson earned an individual spot at the NCAA National Championship, where he placed 40th and earned All-American honors.
First-years Camden Jaureguy and Elena Stanciu were named the UC Santa Cruz Newcomers of the Year. Camden and Elena were both named C2C Newcomers of the Meet at the C2C Conference Championships for being the fastest freshmen across the line with Camden placing ninth and Elena placing second.
Sciole, Sofia Placias, and Martel-Phillips were all honored with Coaches Awards, which are presented by the coaching staff to recognize athletic achievement, dedication, and determination. Hébert and Cedillo were presented with the Teammate Award, which is voted on by the student-athletes to recognize a teammate who is "supportive, maintains a positive outlook, and is a mentor athletically, academically, and socially." Hekkanen was recognized by the C2C Conference as the Women's Scholar Athlete of the Year for her work maintaining a 3.89 GPA while also performing well at the Conference Championships, Regional Championships, and National Championships for the Banana Slugs.
Teammate Award winners Hébert and Cedillo
Janku received the Tamara Torlakson Cross Country Award as the most outstanding women's performer for cross country. In her sophomore season, Janku led the Banana Slugs with an individual championship at the C2C Championships, a ninth place finish at the NCAA West Regional Championship, and a 113th place finish at the NCAA National Championship. Helena improved 99 places from her 2022 NCAA Championship performance.
For the third year in a row, Jackson was honored with the Armando Siqueiros Cross Country Award as the top performer on the men's team. Jackson lowered his previous 8k school record from 24:15 to 24:05 at the C2C Conference Championships, where he won the individual crown for the third consecutive year. He recorded an eighth place finish at the NCAA West Regional Championships, qualifying as an individual for the NCAA National Championship. At the national championships, he placed 40th and became the first Cross Country All-American at UC Santa Cruz since Siqueiros in 1982.
