About the coach....

JANI JOHNSON- MEN & WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD
jjohnson@cuesta.edu
    
Jani begins her eighth season as the Head Coach of Cuesta’s Track and Field teams. Jani coached both cross country and track and field for five years, but decided to concentrate on track and field in 2008. The Cuesta Men and Women’s Track and Field teams enter the 2010 season with an eye on improving the teams overall performance. Coach Jani Johnson has assembled a coaching staff that will enable her to have every discipline mentored by an expert in the field. Her husband Jan Johnson and Cuesta Instructor Dave Pomfret have been on her staff all seven years. Head Cross Country Coach Brian Locher tutors the distance runners and Ryan James is back to work with the throwers. Both Cuesta track and field teams have been finished in the top 12 in the Western State Conference in each of Johnson’s years. Coach Johnson believes her teams are ready to make another jump in the standings. She is excited about the ability and the facilities to serve every discipline.
Jani has extensive running experience and is one of Cuesta’s most accomplished coaches. The New Zealand native was the first female athlete to receive an athletic scholarship at Cal Poly SLO and excelled for the Mustangs as a seven-time National Qualifier and four-time All American. In 1979, she earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in Physical Education and in 1981 she earned her Master’s Degree in Education from Southern Illinois University. Jani continued to compete at a national level after college. She ran for the Nike South Team in 1980-81 and moved on to the Reebok Aggies Racing team from 1987 to 1990. She competed in the half marathon at the 1988 Olympic Festival and won the 1989 Southern California Grand Prix of Road Racing.
Jani has been at Cuesta since 1990 and has had a diverse career as a coach at Cuesta College. She served as the assistant track coach in 1991, the assistant cross country coach in 1996, was the assistant for Cuesta’s first women’s soccer team in 1995 and continues to serve as the coordinator for the college’s Employee Wellness Program. She served as the Assistant Track and Field Coach Atascadero High from 1998-2001. She helped guide the Greyhounds to the 1999 CIF Title.
Jani lives in Atascadero with her husband Jan, a Bronze Medallist at the 1972 Olympics in Pole Vault, and runs the Skyjumpers Pole Vaulting Camp. The couple has two kids, Chelsea and Clay. Chelsea won a pair of NCAA pole vault titles at UCLA and currently jumps professionally for Nike.

Schedule

2010 Schedule

Meet Notes

Coming soon....

Roster

Season Preview

Peter J. Schuler For Immediate Release
SID-Women’s Water Polo Office (805) 546-3211
pschuler@cuesta.edu FAX (805) 546-3299

Sampson and Weinreich Lead Cuesta Track Into 2010 Season

SAN LUIS OBISPO (February 23, 2010)— The Cuesta Men and Women’s Track and Field teams enter the 2009 season with an eye on improving the teams overall performance. Coach Jani Johnson has assembled a coaching staff that will enable her to have every discipline mentored by an expert in the field. Her husband Jan Johnson and Cuesta Instructor Dave Pomfret have been on her staff all eight years, while Brian Locher returns for their third seasons and James Nunno is this season’s rookie coach. The pole-vaulters will be under the expert eye of former Olympic medalist and World Record Holder Jan Johnson, who has guided 21 athletes to the State Meet over the past eight seasons. Pomfret earned All-East NCAA honors in the pole vault, javelin and decathlon while at Bucknell and will work with athletes in the jumps, javelin and multi-sport events. Locher is the Cougars’ Head Cross Country Coach, so the Cougars get the added benefit of having two head coaches on the track. Locher will work with many of his athletes from the fall and concentrate his teaching on the distance events. Nunno competed for the Cougars in 2004 before moving on to Cal Poly SLO. His 6,154 points in the Decathlon is the second best mark in school history and he is listed among the top ten in four other individual events. Nunno is a two-time Big West Decathlon Champion and his 7,208 points are also the second best total in Cal Poly history. He will work all over the field. The women’s track and field team has finished in the top five in the Western State Conference in six of Johnson’s seven years, a feat the program had only accomplished twice during the previous fifteen years. The men halted a two-year drop in the standings and jumped to 3rd place last season, equaling the program’s previous best. This year Coach Johnson believes her teams are ready to make another jump in the standings. She is excited about the ability to serve every discipline with a staff of expert coaches.
Johnson and her staff began the season at the Cerritos Meet on February 19-20. The Cougars begin their Western State Conference schedule this Friday (Noon) at the Ventura Relays.

WOMEN’S TEAM
The Cuesta Women’s Track and Field team returns 2009 State Finalist and school double record holder Christine Weinreich (Pismo Beach: Arroyo Grande HS) along with a small, but talented, team. Last year Cuesta finished 4th in the 14-team Western State Conference, but their stars were so talented that the team only dropped a few spots to 15th place among the 80-plus teams scoring in the State Finals. The Cougars may have to rely on that same type of math this year with only a handful of athletes expected to challenge for a spot at the State Meet.
Jumps- The jumps have traditionally been a strong point for the Cougars, especially the pole vault. The Cougars graduated two-time All State selection Sian Morgan (Burk, UK: SLO HS), however sophomores Sara Pizzo (Santa Cruz) and Nicole Worden (Castaic) are both back for another run. Pizzo’s best mark of 2009 was only 9-6, but Coach Jani Johnson noted that with her recent improvement she could develop into the Cougars’ best vaulter as she continues to recover from shoulder surgery. Worden cleared 10-2 as a freshman and spent the fall running cross country. Those extra miles will help her add extra inches this season. In the long and high jumps the Cougars return Chelsea Cowen (Morro Bay HS) and bring in freshman Nicole Foster (Los Osos: Morro Bay HS). Cuesta’s coaching staff believes that Foster has the chance for a special season. She was an All SLO County choice in the pole vault and can also make an impact in that event.
Throws- Cuesta throwing begins with the program’s best thrower ever, Christine Weinreich (Pismo Beach: Arroyo Grande HS). Weinreich broke the school record in the hammer (151-2) and discus (141-1) last season and was approaching the shot put record when an injury slowed her down in the post-season. She should improve on all of her marks and is expected close that one-foot, seven-inch gap between her and Lara Newell’s 1993 shot put record (44-3). Weinreich should make the 2010 State Meet and improve on her 5th (Discus) and 6th (Hammer) place finishes from 2009. The Cougars are also waiting for Valerie Gee’s (Oakhurst) return for her sophomore season after she completes her stint with the Cuesta basketball team. Gee made great strides during her first season in track and posted the 5th best shot put mark (33-11) and 8th best discus mark (96-6.5) in school history. Freshman Chelsea Hedenland (Auburn) provides the Cougars with three top tier throwers. All three women should score consistently in the power events.
Sprints/Hurdles- The shorter track races are the thinnest part of the Cuesta team. Freshman Hillary Mason (SLO HS) is a potential SoCal Qualifier, but will have to run multiple races at all the pre-conference meets. Freshman Brianna Doran (Paso Robles HS) and Olivia Suraci (SLO HS) will join Mason on the relays and run the 100 and 200 dashes. Jumpers Sara Pizzo (Santa Cruz), Nicole Worden (Castaic) and Nicole Foster (Los Osos: Morro Bay HS) will join in some running events. Pizzo’s time of :29.26 in the 200 was the Cougars best mark in that event last year and only .01 away from the all time Top 10.
Distance- The long distance events from the 800 meters to the 10,000 meters could be the Cougars strongest events and with a few breaks could produce the bulk of their team points. All State Harrier Kelly Barmann (New Mexico) also won New Mexico State Titles in the mile and two-mile races during track season. She is expected to challenge for a CCCAA State Title this spring. Barmann will be pushed by Wagner College transfer Kaela Townsend (Los Gatos HS) and fellow freshman Devon Kelsey (Atascadero HS). Townsend brings NCAA DI experience in cross country, but this is her freshman season on the track. Coach Jani Johnson says, “She has big time potential.” The Cougars also return 2009 All SoCal Qualifier Jennifer Love (Hemet HS) and the Cougars are hoping for the healthy return of Lacey O’Connor (Los Osos: Morro Bay HS). Love is a potential State Qualifier in the 800 and was a SoCal qualifier last year in the 1,500. O’Connor took a medical redshirt last in track season after a standout fall in cross country in 2008. She also missed the fall cross country season this year, but the Cougars think she is finally ready to go this spring. A healthy O’Connor would allow the Cougars to dominate all of the distance races. In the shorter distance events freshmen Aalia Fields (Morro Bay HS) and Paige Petersen (Santa Margarita: Atascadero HS) will join versatile sophomore Christine Tellez (Arroyo Grande HS). Fields is a potential state qualifier in the 800 and will also drop down to run the 400, where she was an All SLO County runner. Petersen will head the other direction and specialize in the 800 and 1,500. Coach Jani Johnson says, “(Petersen) is just coming on after a strong cross country season.” Tellez will add depth and score in all the conference meets.

MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD
The Cougars have once again put together an enormous track team with the hopes that big numbers will produce big results. In 2009, the Cougars finished 3rd in the Western State Conference, which equaled the program’s best conference finish ever. In fact, the men have never finished higher that third in any of three conferences they have competed in since 1971, although they have picked up the team bronze seven times over that span. The big numbers did not help in the post-season, but the Cougars maintained enough quality to finish 27th at the 2009 CCCAA State Meet. Like the women, the men are counting on their distance events and the pole-vault to lead the way, but in that mass of humanity they should also unearth a few diamonds in the other events to balance out their scoring. Coach Jani Johnson feels that this year’s team should equal its 2009 finish in the Western State Conference and produce more than a handful of State caliber competitors.
Jumps- Assistant Coach Jan Johnson, a 1972 Olympic Bronze medalist, always has the Cougars pole vaulting unit in top form and this year is no exception. The early bet is that he has three vaulters expected to vie for the state title. 2009 All State performer Sam Sampson’s (Bellingham, WA) leads the pack after finishing third at the 2009 CCCAA State Meet. Sampson best jump last year was 16-7, but he has used the off-season to improve and could challenge Chase Shealy’s 2003 school record of 17-3. NCAA All American Craig Van Leeuwen (Little Falls, NJ) was the USTFCCA’s Division III Athlete of the Year in 2009. He also set the New Jersey Athletic Conference pole vault record at 16-3.5 while competing for Ramapo College last year. The Cougars have also brought in Hawaiian State Champion Billy Pacheco (Maui, HI) and Illinois State Runner-up Zach Siegmeier (Crystal Lake, IL). Both vaulters have cleared 15-0, which leaves ultra-versatile sophomore Mike Hollis (Livermore HS) on the outside as a point scorer with a 2009-best jump of 14-0. Of course, Hollis will be doing much more for the Cougars this season. He will be looking to improve on his Decathlon score of 5,436 points and should also take down Mario Smith’s 1987 school triple jump record (45-10.5). Long jumper Ian Axsom (Los Osos: Morro Bay HS) and high jumper Taylor Bussberg (Los Osos: Morro Bay HS) will join Hollis in the other jumping events. Bussberrg was the 2009 Las Padres League Champion and has clear 6-4.
Throws- The Cougar throwing unit continues to improve from the program’s weakest link to a full member. Sophomores David Kawalik (Edmonton, CAN) and Brandon Roskelley (Auburn) are the veterans on this year’s squad. Kawalik will compete in the decathlon, with Hollis, and already owns top ten marks on Cuesta’s all time list in the discus (133-11) and shot put (43-2). However the freshman class is one of the most promising groups in years. Freshmen Lance Thibault (Paso Robles HS), Sam Dozier (Salinas) and Drew Hedenland (Auburn) will all challenge for a spot on the top ten with Kawalik. Thibault and Hedenland, whose sister is on the women’s team, were both all league discus throwers in high school. Coach Jani Johnson says, “Dozier has SoCal potential.”
Sprints/Hurdles- The Cougars need some surprises in the sprints, which is the weakness on this year’s team. The Cougars are counting on high school state qualifier Paul Brown (Palo Alto HS) and all-league performer Rogelio Heredia (Paso Robles HS) to anchor a piece meal group. The Cougars will pull athletes from other events for the sprint events, including pole vaulters Sam Sampson (Bellingham, WA), Billy Pacheco (Maui, HI) and Mike Hollis (Livermore HS), as well as long jumper Ian Axsom (Los Osos: Morro Bay HS). It should be noted that despite the fact that Sampson and Hollis specialize elsewhere that Sampson’s :11.19 in 2009 ranks 9th all time at Cuesta and Hollis had the team’s top 400 time (:52.23) last season. The Cougars may have a potential star in the hurdles with freshman Michael Keating (Paso Robles HS). Keating and Pacheco will handle both the 110 and 400 hurdles for the Cougars.
Distance- The men, like the women, expect their distance runners to provide the bulk of their scoring and propel several athletes into the post-season championship meets. In the 400-meter run the Cougars brought in Nebraska State Champion Mike Chitwood (Aurora, NE) and return Daniel Johnson (Lompoc HS) from the 2008 season. Johnson endured an injury plagued freshman season and redshirted in 2009, but with Chitwood the Cougars have dynamic duo. The Cougars will also have loads of talent in the 800 meters led by freshmen Taylor Castanon (Arroyo Grande: Mission Prep) and Bryce Van Boxtel (Parkfield: Shandon HS). Castanon will specialize in the 1,500, but will also be dangerous in the 800. He was the 2009 CIF 1,600 Champion. Van Boxtel is a two-time CIF 800 Champion, but can also be extended to the 1,500. In the 1,500, Castanon and Van Boxtel will join 2009 SoCal Finalist Oscar Pena (King City HS), who has the #6 fastest time in school history (4:01.38). Pena’s time of 16:28.06 in the 5K also ranks in the Top 10 at Cuesta. He will be joined by cross country veterans Gabriel Flores (Taft: Paso Robles HS), Brecon Welton (Palo Alto) and Travis Hallanan (Paso Robles HS) in the longer distance events. All four will compete anywhere from 1,500 to 10,000 and also take care of the steeplechase. Hallanan, like O’Connor on the women’s team, sat out the 2009 track season last spring and cross country this fall with injuries. He is expected to emerge as a force this spring.

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