Cuesta Athletics kicks-off the department's first competition of the season this Friday (3 PM) with the Tour de Cuesta across the highway from campus at the Fairbanks Cross Country Course. The Cougars will be joined five other schools, including local rival Allan Hancock. The rest of this year's pack leans north with Hartnell from Salinas, DeAnza from Cupertino and San Joaquin Delta from Stockton joining Southern Region event-mainstay Saddleback from Mission Viejo. The Bobcats, who make the trip every year, are led by Coaches Matt Sherman, a former State Qualifier for the Cougars, and Mark Blethen, who both began their coaching careers at Cuesta College.
Cuesta Coach Robert Neely is the reigning 2025 Cuesta Athletics Coach of the Year and brings back three returners on the men's side, including 2024 State Cross Country Champion Weston Greenelsh and all-Conference performer John-Paul Walsh. Greenelsh is the man to watch, after following his cross-country title with a State Title in the 5,000-meter run and a Runner-up finish in the 1,500-meters at the CCCAA State Meet last Spring. He capped his freshman year by claiming a share of the Cuesta's 2025 Male Athlete of the Year Award. Walsh was the only other Cuesta harrier to join Greenelsh at the 2024 CCCAA Cross Country Championships and is back to join him as the duo try to lead the Cougars to a team title. The men also return Aiden Gibson, while also welcoming eight newcomers and boasting the program's largest pack since 2018. All-WSC Track Star Anthony Frere earned all-conference honors in the 800m and will join teammate Elliott Ernest as they try their luck on more rugged terrain this Fall. Cuesta also welcomes a quartet of speedy Greyhounds from Atascadero High. Freshmen Colton Baker, Alex Schindler, Oscar Allen and Ivan Behr are all set to make their collegiate debut at Fairbanks Cross Country Course this Friday. Freshmen Colton Morud from Templeton High and Jeff Mendonca from Hilmar shall also battling for a spot among the Cougars' Top 5 scoring team.
The women's team is looking to reload this season, after losing two former Cuesta College Athletes of the Year of last year's team. 2021 Cuesta Women's Athlete of the Year Madeline Fletcher returned to Cuesta to complete her final season of cross country and won the 2025 Western State Conference title on her way to the CCCAA All-State First Team, while 2024 Cuesta Women's Athlete of the Year Elle Cassleman battled through an injury plague season, while still earning all-Conference and all-Region honors, but missing an all-State team by just three places. The duo closed out their Cuesta careers and have moved onto their next challenges, while the Cougars were left to rebuild with an all-freshman squad. Coach Neely dipped into the talent at his Alma Mater and signed Sarah Garcia and Selena Trejo from Atascadero High, before picking up Rebekah Waterbury and Sophia Esparza Perez from San Luis Obispo and Nipomo, respectively. Freshman Isabella Efner, out of Foothill Tech in Ventura, is the only member of the all-rookie line-up from outside of SLO County.
