Eight Student-Athletes Tabbed WSC October Athletes of the Month

Eight student-athletes were tabbed Western State Conference October Athletes of the Month, announced Thursday, representing five different institutions.

Men's Cross Country - Reigning 3C2A Champion Cuesta sophomore Weston Greenelsh raced to his first Western State Conference Championship, finishing the 4-mile course in 20:32.3. Greenelsh finished fifth in 2024. Greenelsh also won the Pink in the Park Invitational (20:20.93), hosted by Hartnell, to open the month, which earned him 5CTCA SoCal Runner of the Week honors. He also finished sixth at the Manny Bautista Invitational/SoCal Preview (20:40.5)

Women's Cross Country - Earning back-to-back WSC Athlete of the Month honors, Moorpark sophomore Maya Natarajan cruised to a WSC Championship on the 3,000-meter course in a time of 18:08.6, finishing ahead of the runner-up by over 20 seconds. She led the Raiders to a team championship as well.

Women's Golf - Sophomore Sahya Kitabatake earned her second-straight WSC title, leading College of the Canyons to the team title at the WSC Championships. She shot three under with a score of 69 on day one at Cypress Ridge Golf Course (Arroyo Grande, Calif.) and finished the conference championships shooting six over with a score of 78 at Santa Maria Country Club. On the season, Kitabatake went undefeated and was named the Player of the Year.

Men's Soccer - Freshman forward Alejandro Alvarez's 10 goals and one assist paced Bakersfield's offense. leading to a 7-1-1 October. He earned a hat trick against Pasadena to open the month, and tallied three matches with the game-winning goal. He's currently second in the conference for the goals, shots, and points. 

Women's Soccer - Freshman winger Zoe Minnery scored at least one goal in each of the seven matches she competed in, leading Santa Barbara to a 7-0-1 record in October and No. 13 ranking in the state. Against Allan Hancock and Cuesta, she registered hat tricks, while adding assists against Ventura and the Bulldogs. The Vaqueros haven't recorded a loss since September 23.

Men's Water Polo - Freshman Ezra Smeltzer played in 17 games, starting 11, competing in 42 quarters in October for Cuesta in the goal, helping lead the Cougars to an overall 10-8 mark for the month and a regular season WSC title. Smeltzer tallied 99 total saves, earning eight wins. Overall, he is currently ranked eighth in the state for total wins. 

Women's Water Polo - Freshman utility Avery Jensen played in 10 of the Santa Barbara's 12 games in October, scoring 24 goals, adding 15 assists with her 39 points. The Vaqueros were 7-1 against 3C2A opponents and maintained their No. 2 ranking in the state. 

Women's Volleyball - Freshman setter Daylin Saiki led Moorpark to a 8-1 record in October, upsetting No. 6 Santa Barbara in a five-set thriller and boosting the team's ranking to as high as No. 8 in the state, while riding a seven-match winning streak to wrap up the month. Saiki started and played in eight of the team's matches, amassing 258 assists (8.32 aps) and 75 digs (2.42 dps), adding 27 kills, 20 aces, and nine blocks. She tallied five double doubles, four with assists and digs, and one with assists and kills.