The UC Santa Cruz Women booked a second consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships, the first time in Cross Country Program History. The Women raced 1 Junior, 3 Sophomores, and 3 Freshmen to have one of the youngest teams racing in Newville, PA. Sophomore Helena Janku improved 99 places from her 2022 NCAA finish and Junior Hanna Hekkanen improved 69 places from her 2022 NCAA Finish to lead the Banana Slugs. This group ran the second fastest time in Program History at the UC Riverside Invitational (21:58 Team Average), Won the Coast-to-Coast XC Championships with a perfect score, placed 4th at the NCAA West Regional Championships for a 3rd consecutive top 4 finish, and placed 31st at the NCAA Cross Country National Championships! Historic Season for the Banana Slugs! 📸: dill.jt & nicoklementzos #goslugs #ucsc #ucsantacruz #ucscathletics #fearthemollusk #ustfccca #whyd3 #d3tf #d3xc #d3glorydays #coast2coast #c2cconference #running #crosscountry #trackandfield