FULLERTON, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton track and field head coach John Elders and his coaches have added nine student-athletes to the squad for the 2017-18 school year.
Jumps
Assistant coach Cortney Stafford enters her third season as the jumps and multis coach at Cal State Fullerton and has welcomed two newcomers to a group that claimed a Big West Championship in 2017 (Laura Hamann, triple jump) and set two school records (Naiah Boardingham, long jump; Ty'Jalayah Robertson, high jump).
Freshman Iesha Hamm, a native of Bakersfield, Calif., joins the Titans as a high jumper. She graduated from Stockdale High School and tied the school record with a personal-best clearance of 5-10 (1.78m). That clearance of 5-10 came at the Arcadia Invitational where she took second place overall. Later in the year she earned a seventh-place finish at the CIF State Championship. She also has personal bests of 18-1 (5.51m) in the long jump and 15.04 in the 100-meter hurdles. Hamm is pursuing a degree in psychology.
After a year competing for Greenville College, sophomore Anthony Cable II joins Cal State Fullerton as a sprinter and long jumper. Cable posted season-best marks of 11.23 in the 100 meters and 23-0.75 (7.03m) in the long jump. He also took third place in the long jump at the NCCAA National Championships with a mark of 22-7 (6.88m). Cable hails from Fairfield, Calif., and graduated from Angelo Rodriguez High School where he holds the school record in the long jump at 24-2 (7.36m). He is working towards a degree in health science.
Sprints
Assistant coach Marques Barosso is in his fourth year as the sprinters, hurdlers and relays coach of the Titans. He has added six sprinters to a group that is looking to build on a strong 2017 campaign. Barosso coached the men's 4x100-meter relay team to a Big West Championship and Diego Courbis, who returns to the squad this year, to a 400-meter hurdles conference title.
Junior Brandon Hasson transferred to CSF after spending the last two years at Arizona State University. He earned first-team 2016 NCAA Outdoor All-America accolades as a member of the 4x100-meter relay team and posted personal-best times of 10.68 (100 meters), 21.09 (200 meters) and 51.51 (400 meters). Hasson hails from Carson, Calif., and graduated from Carson High School where he ran personal-best times of 21.53 in the 200 meters as junior and ran 49.25 in the 400 meters.
Gino Long III joins the Titans after graduating from San Leandro High School in 2017. An Oakland native, Long clocked a personal-best time of 10.55 in the 100-meter dash at the CIF State Championship preliminary round and advanced to the final where he ran 10.60 and took eighth place overall. He won the NCS Meet of Champions in the 200 meters with a personal-best time of 21.87. Long took 18th place in the CIF State Championship preliminaries in the 200 meters with a time of 22.07. He is pursuing a degree in advertising and wants to be a businessman.
Freshman Genevieve Ann Dominguez joins the sprints squad for the Titans after graduating from Simi Valley High School in 2017. A native of Simi Valley, Calif., Dominguez was team captain of her high school team as a junior and senior and is a member of the 4x100-meter relay team that owns the school record. She was a three-time league champion in the 100 meters and owns a personal-best time of 11.96 in the event. Dominguez is pursuing business degree.
Freshman Rasaun House graduated from Rancho Verde High School and competed on the track and field team for all four years and played football for three years. He is member of both the 4x100- and 4x400-meter relay teams that own school records. A Perris, Calif., native, he earned first-team all-league honors during his career and has personal-best times of 10.53 (100 meters), 21.18 (200 meters) and 49.57 (400 meters). House is pursuing criminal justice degree.
Freshman Elani Rice will be a short sprinter for the Titans after graduating from El Camino Real High School in 2017. Rice is from Woodland Hills, Calif., and won two city championships in 2015 in the 200-meter sprint and the 4x100-meter relay team. Rice is also a member of the 4x100-meter relay quartet that owns the school record. She was named Team MVP as a sophomore and a senior and helped lead the soccer team to a 2015 CIF Championship. Rice is pursuing a degree in kinesiology.
Tristan Griffith will join the team in the spring semester after spending the last two years at Ventura College. He set school records there in the 100 meters (10.88), 200 meters (21.64) and 400 meters (47.48). Griffith took fifth place in the state in the 400 meters as a freshman and then third place as a sophomore. He also earned All-America accolades in the 400m. He graduated from Adolfo Camarillo High School in 2015 and was named co-MVP of his team as a senior and was tops in the conference in the 400-meter sprint. Griffith took third place at the Ventura County Championships in the 200 meters with a personal-best time of 21.85. A native of Vallejo, Calif., he clocked a personal-best time of 48.20 in the 400 meters at the Arcadia Invitational ... Won the Ventura County Championships (48.67) and the Coastal Canyon League Finals (49.19) in the 400 meters. Griffith is pursuing a degree in communication and aspires to become a real estate agent.
Throws
Assistant coach Chris Witscher begins his fifth year as the throws coach for the Titans. Witscher added three throwers to a group that also had a strong 2017 campaign. Senior Trevor Gorwin (shot put, hammer) and junior Kelsey McKelvey (javelin) both set school records last year.
Junior Patrick Ng is a Cal State Fullerton Titan after spending the last two years at the College of Mateo. Ng posted marks of 51-7.25 (15.72m) in the shot put, 148-6 (45.26m) in the discus and 170-7.25 (52.00m). Ng graduated from James Logan High School in 2015 and was a two-time league champion in the shot put. A Union City, Calif. Native, Ng owns the school record in the weight throw with a mark of 60-0 (18.28m). He is pursuing a degree in kinesiology.
Freshman Sinai Fatafehi attended three different high schools but graduated from Mountain View High School and holds the indoor school record in the shot put. Her personal-best marks are 43-0 (13.10m) in the shot put and 130-3 (39.70m) in the discus. Fatafehi has lived in seven states and is one of 32 grandchildren. Her mother, Katherine, used to be a thrower as well and she is related to Mario Fatafehi who played in the NFL for the Denver Broncos. She is pursuing a kinesiology degree.
Freshman Sierra Valdivieso graduated from Skyline High School in 2017 and was a two-time Arizona State Champion in the discus. Valdivieso, a native of Mesa, Ariz., holds the school record in the discus at 150-1 (45.74m). She earned four varsity letters in both volleyball and track and field and qualified for the school honor roll all four years. Valdivieso is pursuing a degree in kinesiology.
The 2018 indoor track and field season begins for the women's squad on January 19 with the Lumberjack Team Challenge.
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