Cuesta Women's Track & Field sent five athletes to the 2024 CCCAA State Track & Field Championships last weekend at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo. The quintet competed in six events and claimed 14th place among the 38 teams represented.
The Cougars were led by Freshman Miler Brinley Ewen, who earned a Silver in the 1,500-meters. Ewen's time of 4:42.33 earned her All-State honors and 7th on the Cougars' all-time Top 10. Ewen burst onto the scene for Cuesta this year and owns a school Top 10 mark in each of the championship distance events
Returning all-State performers and Cuesta Record Holders Grace Gutierrez and Madeline Scovil (pict) finished 5th and 6th in their respective disciplines. Gutierrez, the 2023 CCCAA State Runner-up, had her title run stalled at 5'1" and settled for 5th place overall in the High Jump, while Scovil fell almost a foot short of her Triple Jump standard, and finished 6th, with a leap of 37' 7.75". Gutierrez set Cuesta's High Jump mark after clearing 5'4.5" earlier this season to break Ella Baston's 1978 school record, while Scovil also leaves Cuesta atop the leader board. She set Cuesta's Triple Jump mark last year with a leap of 38' 6.75", while also adding 6th all time in the Long Jump at 17'6.75".
Multi-talented Star Savannah Shoemaker owns four Cuesta Top 10 marks but posted two 7th place finishes at the State Meet. Shoemaker scored 3,943 points in the Heptathlon, which is just 55 points shy of her career best. Her best events were the Shot Put, 800-meters and Javelin, where she finished 2nd, 2nd and 3rd, respectively. She also did better in the Javelin as an individual and took 7th place in the individual event, while adding 4.5-feet to her previous mark. Shoemaker ends her Cuesta career ranked in 3rd in program history for Heptathlon (3,988 points), behind two former State Champions, 4th in Javelin (126-8), 8th in Long Jump (16-11.25), and 9th in Shot Put (36-1.25).
Freshman Rian Huffman joined Ewen as the only rookies on the Cougars' State Meet contingent. Huffman and Gutierrez provided the Cougars with a one-two punch in the High Jump. They both cruised through the early heights, but, after clearing 4'11", Huffman stalled a 5'1", which would have equaled her season-best mark.
2024 Cuesta College State Meet Performances
2nd Place (1,500m)- Brinley Ewen, 4:42.23 (All State)
5th Place (High Jump)- Grace Gutierrez, 5-1
6th Place (Triple Jump)- Madeline Scovil, 37-7.75
7th Place (Heptathlon)- Savannah Shoemaker, 3,943 points
7th Place (Javelin) Savannah Shoemaker, 117-11
10th Place (Triple Jump)- Rian Huffman, 4-11
