MORAGA, Calif. — In what began as a season unlike any other, the 2021 Track season for Saint Mary's ended unlike any other. History was made on a regular basis during the spring season for the Gaels, culminating in the first female Gael to reach the NCAA West Prelims to conclude the month of May.
 
Times were fast from the first race of the season to the last, with several Gaels notching personal bests. What stood out about this season was not that just one or two Gaels ran fast times, but that several Gaels were hitting significant marks. In the 1500m on the men's side, four Gaels found themselves running times under the 4:00-mark by the time the year ended: Nolan Dozier, Chandler Maciel, Anthony Vazquez, and Moses Bojorquez. For the women, they matched that number with four finishing with times under 4:40 for the season: Rayna Stanziano, Abigayle Mitchell, Hannah Wohlenberg, and Molly Dreher.
 
Fast times weren't the only impressive markers of the 2021 season, where school records were falling practically every single weekend. Stanziano herself was responsible for multiple school records in the 1500m, where she found herself breaking her own record every time out, including a performance that helped her win SMC's Female Individual Performance of the Year. Stanziano not only set the school record in the 1500m, but she also broke the existing mark in the 800m, while Mitchell broke the record in the same race. Wohlenberg set an SMC record in her first season, setting the school mark in the 10000m race with a time of 36:07.52. On the men's side, Dozier became the record-holder at Saint Mary's in the 5000m with a time of 14:07.14, and came within striking distance of the records in the 1500m and 10000m.
 
The season came to a culmination for the Gaels when Stanziano made history, becoming the first female Gael to qualify for the NCAA West Prelims and the first Gael since Noah McDermott in 2018. She qualified for the first round with a mark of 4:19.87 in the 1500m, which was the 32^nd best time of the 48-runner field. She found herself leading at the halfway point of her heat at Texas A&M in the prelims, but she fell short of advancing to the second round. Still, the season was an incredible success for her and for the Gaels, helping put SMC on the map.
 
Off the track, several Gaels found themselves excelling in the classroom, earning further recognition from the Saint Mary's community. 18 runners held GPAs high enough to be named President's Scholar-Athletes, which requires a cumulative-GPA of 3.25 or greater while holding at least sophomore standing. Three Gaels (Lucas Chung, Sofia Cuevas Dorador, and Abigayle Mitchell) were on the AD Honor Roll, meaning they held the highest GPAs among any student-athletes at Saint Mary's. Mitchell kept the honors rolling outside of her sport when she was given the 2021 McKeon Award, presented to a graduating senior student-athlete who achieved noteworthy success in the classroom, in their sport, and in their extracurricular activities.
 
This season is no doubt just the beginning of greater successes ahead for the Gaels Track program, which is on its way to living up to what they call #TrailTownUSA.