Submitted photo – Hannah Hartwell competing for College of the Redwoods last year.

By Ray Hamill — College of the Redwoods track and field and cross country head coach Reed Elmore is clearly doing something right.

Few community college programs around the state do a better job sending their student-athletes on to four-year programs and setting them up for success on and off the fields of competition.

This spring, five of Elmore’s recent athletes have enjoyed outstanding seasons competing for their new schools, including CR record breaker and state champion Hannah Hartwell.

After two remarkable years at CR, which saw her set multiple school records in distance running, Hartwell has taken her talents to Fort Lewis College, an NCAA Division-II program in Durango, Colorado.

Hartwell became an instant legend during her incredible career at CR, claiming five state titles.

After becoming the first-ever CR woman to win a state title at the 2022 CCCAA track and field championships in the 5K, Hartwell followed that with a state title in cross country in the fall of 2022 and enjoyed three more state wins the following spring, in the 800 meters, the 1500m and the 5K.

And now she’s starring for Fort Lewis, where she not only qualified for the NCAA nationals, but placed fifth in the nation in the 10K on her way to being named All-American.

And she’s not the only former Corsairs to impress on the track this season.

Her former CR teammate, Brianna Green, a Florida native, also qualified for the D-II NCAA nationals in the women’s 400 meter hurdles while competing for her new school, Fresno Pacific

Three other recent CR athletes — Chance Hefter, Josie Peterson and Grant Van Emmerik — all won conference titles at the Division-II level at this year’s California Collegiate Athletic Association track and field championships.

Photos by Chico State Athletics – Josie Peterson, left, and Chance Hefter

Hefter, who now competes for Chico State, placed first in the men’s discus and second in the shot put.

Peterson, who also competes at Chico State and is a St. Bernard’s graduate, won the women’s javelin at the conference championships, while Cal Poly Humboldt’s Van Emmerik, a Ferndale High graduate, won the men’s 400 meter hurdles after earlier setting a new school record in the event for the Lumberjacks.

And all of that success by the former Corsairs is not going unnoticed.

“It’s been a phenomenal run for them the past few years,” CR Athletic Director Bob Brown said of Elmore and his assistant coach Eric Wright, who also has been hugely influential in preparing these athletes for the next level. “And that’s obviously a big goal of ours.”