Moving deeper into the Fall season, athletic stars here at SSU continue to shine. Outstanding talent and hardwork has been displayed these past couple weeks by SSU athletes, one of which was freshman cross country runner, Gianna Bomarito. 

It took Bomarito only a few short weeks to break a SSU cross country record she had tied earlier last month. On Sept. 30, Bomarito made history and set a new program record during the 2022 Paul Short Invite, hosted by Lehigh University. This recorded breaking performance earned her CCAA (California Collegiate Athletic Association) Runner of the Week.

The Fresno native recorded the only sub-21 minute 6k time in program history. Bomarito went on to finish with a time of 20:52.9 to set a new school record. Bomarito shared her thoughts on the record setting performance, “After last weekend I was very happy and proud of myself, I felt like I got a new level of self confidence that has made me even more motivated to keep working. I feel like I’m still growing as a runner and have developed even more determination than before and plan on working from last week to improve in the future.”

Bomarito also earned her first collegiate victory as she placed first in the team’s division out of over 300 runners. The entire five person team would finish inside the top-80, earning SSU a fifth place team finish out of the 42 teams in their division.

Bomarito attributes some of her recent success to the team she represents so proudly, “I still feel like it’s the beginning and there’s a lot left to work towards. After the race I just felt so glad I chose to run and join this program because I feel like I wouldn’t have gotten as far as I am now without it.”

In SSU soccer, sophomore midfielder Lexi Zandonella-Arasa was named CCAA Offensive Player of the Week. On Sept. 29 during a game against Cal State East Bay, Zandonella-Arasa scored the game winning goal with a header in the eighty-fifth minute of the game.

The goal went on to clinch the Seawolves a win against the defending CCAA Tournament Champions. Zandonella-Arasa spoke with SSU STAR via email and shared some thoughts on the match ups last week, “I’m very happy with the results we were able to get in both games last week! We didn’t have the best start but we came out in the second half of each game with more of an urgency and grit which definitely helped us win those games against two good opponents.”

On Oct. 1, Zandonella-Arasa scored two out of the team’s four goals and assisted another as SSU went on to win 4-2 against Stanislaus State. “I think something we focused on was if someone made a mistake they knew to just fix it the next play. It helped us and allowed us to play all out and freely, which is when we’re at our best,” Zandonella-Arasa said.

The SSU midfielder now has 10 goals and five assists in 10 matches this season leading her team to 7-2-2 overall record so far.

Capping off a stellar week of SSU sports, was volleyball player Jen Trephan. The senior setter accumulated 34 kills and nearly two triple doubles over the course of three games.   

Trephan expanded on some thoughts regarding her performances, “I felt like I had a good performance but it was the team and our high level of effort that got us the wins. I think I’m hitting a little harder and placing the ball smarter than I did before. We have high hopes for the rest of the season and I hope our confidence stays at a high.” 

Any time Jen Trephan is playing on the court, she’s also doing what she loves. Trephan expressed her appreciation for the sport she adores playing, “Volleyball has been my whole life and I enjoy it so much. My best friends always come from volleyball so I appreciate it so much.