SEASON PREVIEW- Women's Track and Field hope youth and depth lead to run to NCAA Championships
2/4/2023 7:00:00 PM | Men's Track and Field
2022 saw the first Banana Slug compete at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, with Abby McPhillips earning a 10th place finish in the High Jump. 2023 is set to be just as explosive with the Women's Cross Country Team coming off an impressive season qualifying for the NCAA National Championships for the first time in UC Santa Cruz program history. A number of women who have the potential for nationally ranked performances. Expect the distance women to join a mix of newcomers, veteran sprinters, and field eventers for the deepest Track & Field Team in program history.
Chloe Solomua, Mackenzie Jones, Isha Kasanagottu (Mission San Jose HS, Fremont, CA), and Alicia Dasalla (Prospect HS, Saratoga, CA) will look to hold down the hurdle events. Chloe, the current school record holder in the 100m hurdles, will look to challenge for the conference title this season. Mackenzie is looking to build on her 4th place finish at the C2C Championships in the 400h. Isha and Alicia have both had success in the High School in the 100h and 300h respectively and should make an impact at the Conference level.
Returning Coast-to-Coast Conference Scorers Hanna Hekkanen, Hana Yamamoto, Sage Simms, Monica Fonseca, Iris Abegglen, and Arabella Edler return to continue a strong Banana Slug presence in the distance events. Hanna and Iris come fresh off competing at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Sage and Monica had huge PR's this cross country season while Arabella and Hana had great fall training to prepare for the middle distance events.
After a stellar Cross Country season, First Years Faith Dyogi (Lick Wilmerding, San Francisco, CA), Marianne Chuang (Mission San Jose HS, Fremont, CA), Cheryl Chaung (Mission San Jose, Fremont, CA), Helena Janku (Redwood HS, Larkspur, CA), Emma Wirz (Miramonte HS, Orinda, CA), and Frieda Cedillo (Kennedy HS, Granada Hills, CA) are ready to make their Track & Field debuts. Faith, Marianne, Cheryl, Helena, and Emma all had success at the High School Level competing against each other in the California North Coast Section. Frieda comes to Santa Cruz coming off of 5 LA City Final appearances.
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Sprints/Hurdles/Relays
A strong group of first and second-year Women look to build upon an impressive 2022 season. Sophomore Amaya Cummins returns after going undefeated in her 5 Coast-to-Coast Championship Races sweeping the Indoors and Outdoors Track Athlete of the Year Honors. Coast-to-Coast Relay Champions Caitlin Donovan and Caroleene Block will look to defend their Relay Titles and challenge for Individual Crowns. First Years Kayla Galvez (Foothill HS, Pleasanton, CA), Joceline Ortega-Garcia (Pajaro Valley HS, Watsonville, CA) and graduate transfer Sophie Jimenez (Fresno State) look to make an instant impact. Kayla qualified for the CIF State Championships in the 4x400m Relay and will look to challenge our 400m School Record.  Joceline will look to instantly add depth in the 100m, 200m, and relays. Sophie has a proven track record in the 400m and 800m events and could look to challenge our School Record in the 400m this season.Chloe Solomua, Mackenzie Jones, Isha Kasanagottu (Mission San Jose HS, Fremont, CA), and Alicia Dasalla (Prospect HS, Saratoga, CA) will look to hold down the hurdle events. Chloe, the current school record holder in the 100m hurdles, will look to challenge for the conference title this season. Mackenzie is looking to build on her 4th place finish at the C2C Championships in the 400h. Isha and Alicia have both had success in the High School in the 100h and 300h respectively and should make an impact at the Conference level.
Middle Distance/Distance
The Women's distance group is coming off a historic Cross Country Season. The Women placed third at the NCAA West Regional Championships and qualified for the first time in program history for the NCAA National Championships. In Lansing, MI the women made the most out of their debut with a 22nd place team finish. The Women will be continually led this Track and Field season by Seniors Riley Martel-Phillips and Ash Baudin. After finishing 41st in the NCAA Cross Country Championships, Riley is poised to break School Records in the 1,500m and 5,000m and contend for NCAA qualifications. Ash narrowly missed qualifying for the NCAA Championships last spring in the steeplechase and will be on a mission this year to make the trip to Rochester, NY for the NCAA Championships .Returning Coast-to-Coast Conference Scorers Hanna Hekkanen, Hana Yamamoto, Sage Simms, Monica Fonseca, Iris Abegglen, and Arabella Edler return to continue a strong Banana Slug presence in the distance events. Hanna and Iris come fresh off competing at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Sage and Monica had huge PR's this cross country season while Arabella and Hana had great fall training to prepare for the middle distance events.
After a stellar Cross Country season, First Years Faith Dyogi (Lick Wilmerding, San Francisco, CA), Marianne Chuang (Mission San Jose HS, Fremont, CA), Cheryl Chaung (Mission San Jose, Fremont, CA), Helena Janku (Redwood HS, Larkspur, CA), Emma Wirz (Miramonte HS, Orinda, CA), and Frieda Cedillo (Kennedy HS, Granada Hills, CA) are ready to make their Track & Field debuts. Faith, Marianne, Cheryl, Helena, and Emma all had success at the High School Level competing against each other in the California North Coast Section. Frieda comes to Santa Cruz coming off of 5 LA City Final appearances.
Jumps
The UC Santa Cruz Women's jumps program is going to be led by a group of newcomers with the graduation of Abby McPhillips. First Year Alex Kaplan (Poudre HS, Fort Collins, CO), Faith Dyogi, Isha Kasanagottu, and Joceline Ortega-Garcia will provide a needed boost in the field for the Banana Slugs. Alex enters UC Santa Cruz ready to immediately challenge the School Record in the Triple Jump. Faith, Isha, and Joceline will be in position to score at the Conference level in the Pole Vault, High Jump, and Long Jump respectively.Throws
First Year Whitney Porter (Marina HS, Huntington Beach, CA) is looking to follow in the footsteps of UC Santa Cruz greats Jordynn Dorado and Gilly Davis leading the throws program. Whitney finished 3rd at the Sunset Wave League Finals in the Shot Put and Discus and qualified for the Southern Section Division 1 Prelims in the Discus. Whitney will look to be an instant contributor at the Conference Championships.Â
Players Mentioned
Distance
/ Men's Track and Field
Distance
/ Men's Track and Field
Sprints
/ Men's Track and Field
Distance
/ Men's Track and Field
/ Men's Track and Field
Sprints
/ Men's Track and Field
/ Men's Track and Field
Middle Distance
/ Men's Track and Field
/ Men's Track and Field
Distance
/ Men's Track and Field
Distance
/ Men's Track and Field
/ Men's Track and Field
/ Men's Track and Field
/ Men's Track and Field
Middle Distance
/ Men's Track and Field
Hurdles
/ Men's Track and Field
/ Men's Track and Field
/ Men's Track and Field
Distance
/ Men's Track and Field
Sprints/Jumps
/ Men's Track and Field
/ Men's Track and Field
Throws
/ Men's Track and Field
Distance
/ Men's Track and Field
Hurdles
/ Men's Track and Field
/ Men's Track and Field
Distance
/ Men's Track and Field
