The San Diego Mesa College women’s cross country team is poised and ready to kick off the 2023 campaign. Head coach Sean Ricketts and his Olympians are gearing up for a series of competitive events.
The season starts on Friday, September 1, at the Fresno Invitational in Woodward Park. After losing Mohussin Abakar and Emma Fitzgeral to matriculation, this will be the coaches first glance at the revamped team.
On September 23, the team will travel north, to run in the Cougar Challenge at Cal State University San Marcos.
The team will then host the annual Manny Bautista XC Invitational on Friday, October 6, at the Naval Training Center (Liberty Station) in Point Loma, California.
On Friday, October 13, the team will once again hit the road to Walnut, California to compete at the prestigious Mt. SAC Invitational.
The regular season will conclude on Saturday, October 14, as the team will travel to Estacada, Oregon to compete at the Lewis & Clark Invitational.
At the conclusion of the regular season, conference championships are scheduled for Friday, October 20, at Morley Field (hosted by Southwestern College). The Southern California Championships will be at El Dorado East Regional Park in Long Beach, CA on Friday, November 3.
Lastly, the 3C2A State Championship will be held at Woodward Park in Fresno on Saturday, November 18.
The Olympians are ready to write another chapter in their storied legacy, which included a second place finish at the state championships in 2022. The runner-up finish is the program's best result since the 1994 state championship squad.
At the beginning of every season, coaches must determine the type of team they have assembled. With new and exciting faces also comes the reality of losing players that were pivotal in the success of the program. Mohussin Abakar and Emma Fitzgerald are two that will be difficult to replace. They were natural leaders and their presence will be missed. Abakar was an all-state performer and finished 4th in the state championships. Fitzgerald led as team captain.
The key returning players for the Olympians who are expected to contribute immediately are:
Sophia Moser Smith:
Member of 2022 State XC Runner Up's, 5th Place Finisher in the Steeplechase 2023 State Championships
Kyana Cook:
Member of 2022 State XC Runner Up's, 4th Place Finisher (All American) in the Steeplechase 2023 State Championships
Presley Bennett:
Member of 2022 State XC Runner Up's, 8th Place Finisher in the 10,000m 2023 State Championships
Madison Decker:
Member of 2022 State XC Runner Up's, 2023 Regional Finals Qualifier 1500m
Sidney Garcia:
Member of 2022 State XC Runner Up's, 4th Place Finisher (All American) in the 800m 2023 State Championships
Azucena Hernandez:
2022 XC Redshirt
The freshmen on the team bring an excitement to the start of the new season. They consists of:
Alexis Noble:
Clairemont HS - 3rd Place in 2022 CIF D.IV XC Championships and 23rd Place in 2022 State XC Championships, Track PR's of 1600m-5:12, 800m-2:22, 2 Mile-11:17, Set the pre-season Mile Time Trial Record last week
Kate Touchet:
Patrick Henry HS Track PR's of 1600m - 5:24, 3200m-11:54
Haidyn McKenzie:
Canyon Crest Academy HS - 17th Place Finisher 2022 CIF XC Championships, Track PR's of 800m-2:24, 1600m-5:32
Vanessa Ramirez:
Rancho Bernardo HS - 19:21 XC PR at Mt. Sac Invite, Track PR's of 1600m-5:35, 3200m-11:39
A second place finish at last year's state championship will serve as good motivation for this team. Ricketts adds that the team wants to continue what they started and purely focus on improving throughout the season. He also emphasized the importance of staying consistent and healthy. “It’s outstanding to see the group continue their team mindset from last year to the new group of women this year,” adds Rickets. We want everyone to be on the same page and embrace their team and enjoy the journey this fall.``
