UC Santa Cruz Cross Country & Track

Huge Day for the Banana Slug Men at the Bronco Invitational! Junior Luke Holland ran the second fastest time in Banana Slug History running 24:13 at the 8,000m. The Men placed 5th in the Invitational against some of the top Division 1 Teams in California! Up next, C2C Conference Championship in Newport News, VA.
📸: .sports.photos

GREAT DAY for the Banana Slugs at the Bronco Invitational at Baylands Park in Sunnyvale, CA. Sophomore Kenzie Seymour reset her School Record for 6,000m at 20:55! The Women finished 2nd as a team in the open race led by Senior Hannah Hekkanen with a 7th place team finish! Can’t wait for the C2C Conference Cross Country Champsionhips in two weeks in Newport News, VA! Go Slugs!
📸: .sports.photos

Race Day in Terre Haute, IN for the Pre-Nationals. The Women Race at 9:00PM EST and the Men Race at 9:45PM EST! Let’s Go Slugs!

Huge Day for the Men at the UC Riverside Invitational. Luke ran the second fastest time in Banana Slug History! Three Banana Slugs under 25:00mins and 8 men under 25:35 for just the second time in program history. Going to be a GREAT YEAR! Let’s Go Slugs!
📸: .guelzacarias

WHAT A WEEKEND!!!
Kenzie and Helena dip under the former School Record for 6,000m of Banana Slug Great Shannon McClish! The Women shatter the Program Record for Team Time with an average of 21:37 for the first 5 finishers. We saw 10 Women under 23:15 for only the second time in program history! Get excited for this incredible group of young women! Go Slugs!

📸: .guelzacarias &

Rise and Shine because it’s Race Day at the UC Riverside Invitational. The Women Race at 7:15AM and the Men Race at 7:50AM! Let’s Go Slugs!

Great Weekend of Racing at UC Davis at the Stump Invitational. The Banana Slugs had a number of PRs in the sun at the Putah Creek Reserve. We’re back in action this weekend at UC Riverside at the Riverside Invitational Saturday Morning. Let’s Go Slugs!
📸: .sports.photos

Huge weekend of racing by the Banana Slug Men! Freshman Michael Lennox becomes the third fastest freshman All-Time at Golden Gate Park for the Slugs! Desi Herrerias, Benthan Vu, Ethan Vahle, and Gavin Hahn all broke 27:00min for their UC Santa Cruz Cross Country Debuts! Excited to see the Banana Slugs in action in two weeks at UC Davis!

Incredible Season Opener by the Banana Slug Women! The Women were led by a trio of freshman Sara Teitelbaum, Jordan Robinson, and Madison Lorenz who became the second, fourth, and fifth fastest freshmen respectively in Banana Slug History at Golden Gate Park. Can’t wait to see our team back in action in two weeks at UC Davis!
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Meet Day at Golden Gate Park at the USF Invitational!
Excited to see the Banana Slugs kick off this Cross Country Season!

Welcome to the class of 2028 Banana Slug Cross Country!
Rosey Harris FR Sebastopol, CA
Madison Lorenz FR San Diego, CA
Lucia Muthu FR Chicago, IL
Jordan Robinson FR San Mateo, CA
Evelyn Ruckmann-Barnes FR Livermore, CA
Sara Teitelbaum FR Berkeley, CA

The newest additions to Banana Slug Cross Country!
Ethan Vahle JR Sacramento, CA
Graeme Maclean GR Dallas, TX
Desi Herrerias FR Danville, CA
Brennen Rickey FR Issaquah, WA
Michael Lennox FR Camarillo, CA
Let the Fun Begin!

Can’t wait to get the whole group back together! Cross Country Season coming soon!!

Can’t wait to get the speed train back in action! Cross Country Season is almost here! 👏

Huge Congratulations to Eric A, Eric J, Aaron, Helena, and Kenzie for being named 2024 NCAA Division IIITrack & Field All-Academic Athletes. The Men’s and Women’s Teams were recognized as 2024 NCAA Division III Track & Field All-Academic Teams. Outstanding student-athletes working hard in the classrooms as well as on the track.

Huge Congratulations to our Banana Slugs on an incredible season. At the 2024 UC Santa Cruz Student-Athelte Awards Ceremony presented by the Cross Country and Track & Field Programs earned recognition for Eric Anderson Men’s Student Athlete of the Year, Elena Stanciu Women’s Newcomer of the Year, Helena Janku Women’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Luke Holland Men’s Scholar- Athlete of the Year, Men’s Cross Country Highest Men’s Team GPA! A huge congratulations to all of our graduating Seniors!
Can’t wait to see what comes next!
Go Slugs!

Huge Congratulations to all of our Track & Field Student-Athletes on a phenomenal season! At the 2024 Track & Field End of Year Banquet the Banana Slugs Recognized::
25 Coast-to-Coast Conference Champions
18 UC Santa Cruz T&F Mollusks of the Meet
15 USTFCCCA All-Region Honors
14 UC Santa Cruz Graduating Seniors
14 UC Santa Cruz Outdoor School Records
9 Coast-to-Coast Conference Records
7 Coast-to-Coast Conference Meet Record
4 Coaches Awards (Soujit, Alex, Sofia, and Sophie)
2 Performances of the Year (Caitlin and Eric J.)
2 Most Valuable Athlete: Track (Helena and Eric A.)
2 Most Valuable Athlete: Field (Evan and Kailey)
Click the Link in our Bio to Read the GoSlugs.com Press Release for more details!

HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to all of our Graduating Seniors! It’s been a whirlwind college experience missing their High School Graduations and beginning their college careers online. Incredibly proud of their perseverance and finally getting to walk across a graduation stage! Once a Slug, Always a Slug!

Huge Congratulations to freshman Evan Hofstetter on posting a top 10 finish at the USATF U20 Nationals Championships. In just his third ever Decathlon, Evan broke through the 6,000 point barrier with a New UC Santa Cruz School Record in the 400m (49.07) and a gusty performance in the 1500m (4:20.20) to secure a 6,000 point finish! Excited to see what this young man will accomplish in the future!

Congratulations to Benthan Vu on being named the 2024 Coast-to-Coast Men’s Track & Field Outdoor Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Benthan is a Computer Science: Computer Game Design Major maintains a 3.95 GPA. Benthan placed second in the 10,000m at the C2C Outdoor Championships and sixth in the 5,000m for 11 points. Benthan shattered his lifetime bests running 15:18.73 in the 5,000m and 32:19.51 in the 10,000m during the Outdoor Season! Let’s Go Benthan!

Congratulation to freshman Evan Hofstetter for being named C2C Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Rookie of the Year. At the C2C Outdoor Track & Field Championships Evan scored 18 points scoring in the 400H (2nd), 4x400m (2nd), Long Jump (3rd), High Jump (6th), and Javelin (6th). Evan led the Conference lists in the Decathlon and was ranked top 10 in 9 different events. Evan qualified for the USATF U20 Championships will be competing in the Decathlon next weekend in Eugene, Or. Go Evan!

Eric Anderson matches his NCAA Division III Runner-Up Indoor Performance with a Second Place finish at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships in the 1500m. Eric collects his Second All-American Honor on the Year and makes it two for two on earning All-American Honors when competing at the NCAA Division III Track & Field Championships. Eric closes his last 400m in 55.45 to move from 8th to 2nd! Huge Congratulations to the Junior! Let’s Go Eric!

Men’s 1500m Final at the NCAA Outdoor Championships!! Watch Eric Anderson take on the best student-athletes in the country! Let’s Go Eric!

Pictures from Prelims at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Nationals Championships. Eric placed second in his Prelim Heat of the 1500m, to automatically qualify for the 1500m Final Saturday at 1:35PM PST! Let’s Go Eric!

Big Q for the Tall Man, ON TO FINALS!!!