Submitted photos – Hannah Hartwell, center was named Female Athlete of the Meet at the weekend state championships.

College of the Redwoods sophomore Hannah Hartwell closed out a sensational JC career with another outstanding performance at the California community college state track and field championships over the weekend.

Hartwell placed first in three events — the women’s 800 meters, 1500m and 5K — and was named Female Athlete of the Meet.

She was one of five CR athletes to make the trip to Modesto for the prestigious event and she wasn’t the only one to impress.

The Corsairs had an incredible five All-American performances (top four) on the day, as well as three All-State finishes (top eight), including another huge meet for sophomore Chance Hefter. 

Hefter placed third in the men’s hammer, fourth in the shot put, and seventh in the discus.

CR’s Alexee Kline also had a big meet and placed sixth in the women’s javelin, five spots ahead of teammate Addi Slaybaugh, who was making a second trip to the state championships.

And rounding out an outstanding day for the local college, Kyle Byrne placed seventh in the men’s 800m.

To put the overall performance in perspective, the CR women finished seventh as a team in the entire state.

Hartwell’s incredible day obviously scored a lot of team points.

“To do what she did with just over an hour between each event, I’ve never seen something like that in my life,” CR head coach Reed Elmore said. “She just got stronger and stronger as the day went on.”

Hartwell began the day with a victory in the 1500m in a time of 4 minutes 32.26 seconds, and remarkably ran a 2:18 over the final 800m of the race, on par with the top times in the actual 800m.

Chance Hefter, third from left.

Alexee Kline, second from left

She followed that barely an hour later with a victory in the 800m in a time of 2:14.24, before rounding out the day with a win in the 5K in a time of 17:12.83.

Hartrwell, who will compete for Division-II Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, next year, will leave Humboldt with the fastest ever women’s time in county history in the 5K.

And, according to her coach, she was getting pretty close in the 1500m as well

She also has the fastest ever time in CR history in all three events, as well in the 5K in cross country.

She is a five-time state champion — this past weekend’s three events, as well as the 5K in 2022 and cross country last fall — when no other CR women’s runner had ever even won even one state title before.

But most of all, according to Elmore, “she’s a great teammate.”

Hefter, meanwhile, has received plenty of interest from D-I and D-II four-year programs but is still undecided on where he will go next.

“He’s definitely a monster,” Elmore said, adding that the state shot put competition “was one of the greatest I’ve ever seen.”

The event was decided on the final throw.

“At the end they just brought it,” Elmore said of the competitors.

Byrne will take his talents to the D-II level and will compete for Cal State East Bay next year after a very strong performance at his first college state meet.

CR’s Kyle Byrne, right

“It was a great opportunity for him to learn how to run at a championship meet,” Elmore said.

Kline will also take her talents to a four-year program after her outstanding JC career and will compete for Boise State, while Slaybaugh is still considering her options.

The Corsairs will have some news later this week on local high school senior athletes who will join the team for next year.

Addi Slaybaugh celebrates her performance at the state championships.