The Cougars shall host the "Ocean v. Valley" Meet this Friday (10 AM).  The Cougars will be joined by, relatively, coastal teams Allan Hancock and Hartnell to battle against Yuba, Sequoias, Modesto and Clovis, who represent the Valley teams.  The meet should bring out the best in the Cougars, who already have several athletes ranked among the best in the State.    Heptathlete Savannah Shoemaker leads the women's team.  The multi-event star ranks 5th in the State after scoring 3,694 points in her first competition and is already 5th all time at Cuesta.  Returning Freshman Eva Kessler ranks 6th in the State in the High Jump and her best jump of 5' 3" only one-inch away from Ella Baston's 1978, quadruple-tied, school record of 5-4.  The women also boast Thrower Makaylie Howell and Pole Vaulter Elen Zhu.  Howell is ranked in the Region for both the Shot Put (4th) at 36-10.75 and Discus (5th) at 127-3.  Zhu ranks 4th in the State with her leap of 11-3.75, but is still short of the Cougars' stacked Top 10 in the event.  

The men's team is led by one of the State's top throwers. 2021 Cuesta Team MVP Gabriel Katches is ranked #1 in the State on the Discus (178-2) and holds Cuesta's record at 188-8.  He also ranks 3rd in the region, and 6th all time at Cuesta, in the Shot Put (48-0.5).  The men shall also count on Harrier Luis Cervantes, who ranks 4th in the Region in the 10,000-meters (32:59.79).