The Cal women haven’t qualified as a team to the NCAA Championships since 2011, but several years of re-building and immediate impact recruits will give the Golden Bears that much-needed edge to get out of the west region.

 

The Golden Bears have a young leader in Bethan Knights, who arrived as a freshman in 2014 by finishing third at the Pac-12 Conference Championships, and fourth in the NCAA West Region. She capped off an impressive fall with her first All American honor with a 25th-place finish in Terre Haute. The spring saw more success with an NCAA Outdoor Final berth in the 5K, and later a personal best of 15:51 at the European Athletics U23 Championships. 

 

Knights will be assisted with the comeback of All American Kelsey Santisteban who is returning from injury. In 2013, Santisteban finished 10th overall at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, which stands as the best finish ever by a Cal Golden Bear. She continued the 2014 season with a debut in the 10K at 33:31, which is the third-fastest mark in school history. Unfortunately, Santisteban has been battling on and off injuries since a stress fracture sidelined her in the spring of 2014. However she will be back in the fall ready to contribute in her final cross country season. 

 

Both Leanne Jarvis and Mariel Mendoza also stand to add depth to the squad after impressive track seasons. Jarvis made a statement very early on as a freshman with a 5K debut in a blazing fast 16:36. Mendoza has been budding into a standout runner as well after posting a 1500m personal best of 4:27 and a 3K PR of 9:42.  

 

What can potentially be the Golden Bears’ “X” factor this season is the incoming squad of recruits, namely Georgia Bell of Great Britain, Marissa Williams of Los Angeles, and Jordyn Colter of Englewood, Colorado. Bell comes into the fall with a 4:16 1500m personal best and a silver medal at the England Athletics Under-23 Championships. Williams joins the Golden Bear squad with an eighth-place finish at the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships to her name. And Colter is coming off of winning her second Colorado state 800m title as well as a fourth-place finish at the 2012 Foot Locker Championships. 

 

With the addition of several high profile transfers and recruits, combined with the power of a seasoned group of veterans, the Cal Golden Bears have the potential to make some serious noise in the fall.