Cross Country opens the 2023 campaign with the annual Tour de Cuesta at the Fairbanks Cross Country Course this Friday.  The women's race begins at 3 PM and the men shall follow at 3:45.   It should be a good day for racing with good air quality, temperatures in the mid-80's and a moderate breeze off the coast.  

Coach Robert Neely, the Cougars' track & field coach, is the program's third coach over the past three years, however his six-man, men's team includes four athletes that competed in track for him last Spring.  2022 CCCAA State Qualifier Anthony Erikson (pict) leads the team.  Last year, Erickson finished 44th at State Meet and also earned a spot on all-Western State Conference Second Team.  The Cougars also bring back all-WSC Honorable Mention pick Axel Reich and fellow sophomores Deegan Miller and Jorge Merced.  Freshmen Dane Hardy, Gabriel Irwin and Kyle Shatwell join the Cougars' pack this season. 

A trio of harriers will compete for the women's team this year.  2023 State Track & Field Qualifier and all-Conference Star Elle Casselman will ditch the lanes to lead the women's team this season.  Casselman reached the CCCAA State Finals in the 800-meters, where she finished 5th, but also spent last Fall as a member of the Triathlon Club at the University of Colorado.  She should have no problem with the extra distance and will be joined on the course by freshmen Summer Gelman and Taylor Jones.  Gelman began last year at San Diego State, before moving up the coast this year to compete for the Cougars, while Jones steps up to the collegiate level after earning Team MVP honors at nearby Arroyo Grande High.