Lions Advance To State

Notes from Head Coach Andy Ponce de Leon

SANTA ROSA, CA — De Anza College track and field student-athletes delivered a strong showing across multiple event groups at the 3C2A Northern California Championships, highlighted by standout performances in distance events and throws.

The women's team placed fifth overall and the men's team finished 11th.

For the men, De Anza saw strong representation in the middle-distance events. Anthony Dianda and Keaton Wong both advanced to the 800-meter final, placing seventh (1:57.47) and eighth (1:58.03), respectively.

The men's distance group added depth across events. Alexander Herrera placed 16th in the 5,000 meters (15:56.86), while Brandon Phan competed in the 10,000 meters.

In the steeplechase, De Anza placed four athletes in the final, led by Roee Biluar (10:15.65), with Jonathan Kammerer, Jerry Dang, and Toby Huynh also competing.

The throws group delivered some of the team's top finishes. Liam Brennan won the discus with a throw of 49.29 meters and also competed in the shot put and hammer.

Brennan won the same event as a freshman in 2024.

Ryan McGlashan placed second in the shot put (15.98m), fourth in the discus, and fifth in the hammer, contributing across three events.

On the track, Fabian Oduk competed in the 400 meters and returned to run on the 4x400 relay team alongside Aidan Shelley, Anthony Dianda, and Omar Shaaban. The group placed eighth overall in 3:25.71.

On the women's side, Siena Pignataro led the way with a dominant weekend.

She captured the NorCal title in the 10,000 meters in 39:05.65 and followed it up with a runner-up finish in the 5,000 meters at 18:32.59. She also placed sixth in the 1500 meters, demonstrating impressive range across all three events.

Corinne Thelen added valuable points in the distance group with a second-place finish in the 10,000 meters (39:35.93), giving De Anza a 1–2 finish in the event.

In the throws, Genesis Mailangi turned in one of the top all-around performances of the meet. She won the hammer throw (47.35m), placed second in the javelin (37.39m), and added strong marks in both the shot put and discus.

Sapphire Fox-Araya also contributed in the throws, competing in both discus and hammer.

On the track, Sarah Morales advanced to the final of the 400 meters and placed sixth overall (1:00.04).

She later returned to lead the 4x400 relay alongside Junya Zeng, Emma Ulloa, and Naomi Seastrom, with the quartet finishing fourth in 4:03.17. Seastrom also competed individually in the 400-meter hurdles, placing seventh.

De Anza now looks ahead to the 3C2A State Championships (May 15-16 at Mt. SAC) as several athletes position themselves to compete against the top qualifiers from across California.

MEN'S SCORES

1	Modesto JC	110
2	San Joaquin Delta	85
3	American River	82
4	Clovis CC	66
4	Sequoias	66
6	Chabot	60
7	Hartnell	58
8	Merritt	57
9	Butte	42
10	San Mateo	39
11	De Anza	31
12	San Jose City	25
13	Santa Rosa JC	19
14	Sacramento City	16
15	Monterey Peninsula	13
15	Lake Tahoe	13
17	Merced	10
18	Shasta	8
18	Yuba	8
20	Fresno City	4
20	Diablo Valley	4
22	Madera CC	1
22	Redwoods	1

WOMEN'S SCORES

1	Modesto JC	127
2	American River	88
3	Monterey Peninsula	73
4	San Joaquin Delta	71
5	De Anza	68
6	San Mateo	51
6	Sequoias	51
8	Hartnell	49
9	Fresno City	38
10	Clovis CC	36
11	Sacramento City	32
12	Chabot	24
12	San Jose City	24
14	Shasta	23
15	Diablo Valley	17
16	Merced	13
17	Redwoods	12
18	Butte	10
19	Santa Rosa JC	7
20	Sierra	2
20	Laney	2