Cuesta College welcomes back their students for the fall semester. Students may not be aware of how many athletic teams are practicing and competing on campus regularly. Here are some sporting events hosted in SLO County involving Cougar athletics.
The Men’s Water Polo team have been playing games for about a month now. Longtime head coach John Marsh just picked up his 400th career win, as the Cougars are undefeated at 7-0 heading into their home tournament at Cuesta College. Averaging 19.8 goals a game this season, this team full of freshman and sophomore leaders is here to play.
Rachel Gruetzmacher, a former Cuesta Women’s Water Polo standout, has taken over the head coaching role this year. Gruetzmacher assisted Cuesta in the past as well, coaching the SLO Water Polo Club. These Cougars have started off the year with a solid 5-4 record through their first 9 games. They have a home tournament at the end of the month, and would love to have some home support. Led by all freshman players, they are set for an exciting year.
Head Coach Whitney Meyer has been on the hardwood all her life, and has been both a superstar player for Cuesta in the past and an assistant coach for the Cougars. After a rocky start, they have won 2 of their last 3 games, and have many home games coming up. Sophomore Meredith Donovan looks to have a breakout season, and lead her freshman teammates to some wins.
The wrestling team opened with a 7th place team finish under coach Joe Dansby. A few members stood out, including Sami Barakat, who went 3-0 on the day to get the win. Gabriel Rivera and Quinn Patrick had solid meets with 2-1 records, but came up just shy of the finals. Make sure to keep a lookout for these wrestlers, and the rest of the team, as they are competing in many tournaments this upcoming season.
New Head Coach Kaleb Lique Naitove takes over as Cuesta’s second Women’s Soccer head coach ever. He’s an expert sprint and speed coach for track and field, and also played professional soccer. The Cougars have a solid goalkeeping-by-committee system going, and Roni Hinson and Marlem Cambron are coming off a shutout performance. Still looking for their first win after two losses and a tie, they have many conference games to go through in the next two months.
Men’s and Women’s Cross Country
After their opening meet earlier this month, the Cuesta Men’s Cross Country team runners are looking forward to the rest of the season, Especially Jordan Reilly and Axel Reich. They were the top finishers from the first meet, with Reilly finishing in 11th place, and Reich at 32nd. The two runners helped the Harriers finish with a 5th place team finish. Head Coach Connor Fisher is a former standout runner at Cuesta looking to prepare his team for the upcoming meets ahead.
The Women’s Cross Country team is a little shorthanded, but the trio of women don’t have any doubts about their goals for individual qualifications. Dulce Esquivel, Paige Medrano, and Adrienne Frere all ran well, scoring 12th, 16th and 30th in Orange County for their first meet earlier this year.
