SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State track and field and cross country programs have announced the signing of nine student-athletes for the upcoming 2024-25 seasons. The group features four transfers and five incoming freshmen.
Laraigh Allen | Sprints | San Diego, Calif. (Helix High School)
Allen is a four-time varsity letter winner in track and field at nearby Helix High School. Highly regarded as one of the fastest sprinters in the San Diego Section, she owns the school record in both the 100m and 200m races. In 2023 she saw limited action, running in just five events, but winning three of them (two 400m and one 4x100m relay) following a season where she racked up 14 event victories across the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay. In her senior season, she qualified for the CIFSDS Section Championships in the 400m dash where she finished fourth overall. She owns personal bests of 12.02 in the 100m, 24.73 in the 200m, and 57.97 in the 400m.
Alyssa Alumbres | Jumps | Murrieta, Calif. (Vista Murrieta High School)
Alumbres is a four-time varsity letter winner from Vista Murrieta High School. This past season she won the state title in triple jump at the CIF Championships with a school record leap of 40 feet, 11 inches. At the same meet, she also won silver in long jump with a mark of 19-5.5 at the state meet. A 2024 Inland Empire Varsity First Team selection, she reached the state finals in three consecutive seasons from 2022-24 in both long jump and triple jump. Her personal best mark in long jump is 19-7.5 along with her 40-11 jump in triple jump.
Peyton Bedrosian | Pole Vault | Paso Robles, Calif. (Paso Robles High School)
Bedrosian lettered all four years at Paso Robles High School, competing primarily in pole vault but also some sprints as well. The 2024 CIF CS Masters and Central Section Champion, she qualified for the state finals last year where she finished sixth overall. She also reached the state finals as a junior in 2023 and the state prelims as a sophomore in 2022. A three-time Mountain League champion, she owns a personal best of 12-9 set during her junior season.
Presley Bennett | Distance | Encinitas, Calif. (San Diego Mesa)
Bennett began her collegiate career at nearby San Diego Mesa, running the distance events during the 2023 track season. She totaled 11 different races in her true freshman season which included an eighth-place finish in the 10,000m at the CCCAA California State Championships. She won a pair of silver medals at the PCAC Championships, finishing second in both the 5,000m and 10,000m races at the conference meet. The Encinitas native owns personal bests of 2:31.42 in 800m, 5:06.43 in the 1,500m, 18:30.27 in the 5,000m and 39:37.40 in the 10,000m.
Takiyah Blue | Sprints | Seattle, Wash. (Eastern Washington)
Blue comes to The Mesa after spending her freshman season at Eastern Washington. With the Eagles, she competed in just the 2024 indoor season where she posted bests of 7.84 in the 100m, 24.85 in the 200m and 56.41 in the 400m. She competed in four events at the Big Sky Indoor Championships including both the 4x400m and distance medley relays. Competing as a member of the High Voltage Track Club, Blue won the 100m dash and finished second in the 400m dash at the 2023 USATF Region 13 Junior Championships. During outdoor season, she owns lifetime bests of 12.23 in the 100m, 24.49 in the 200m and 56.78 in the 400m.
Pavana Nagaraj | Multis/Jumps | Kamataka, India
Nagaraj joins the Aztecs from India where she set records on the international level. In long jump, she won gold at the Asian U-20 Championships in 2024 with a jump of 6.32m which ranked third best for her nation at the time. She also set a junior Asian record of 5,076 points in the heptathlon for another gold this year at the National Federation Cup U20. With a focus in long jump, she has won the event three times this year including the National Federation Cup U20 and Asian U20 Athletics Championships.
Mia Reid | Sprints/Hurdles | Cal State Fullerton
Reid transfers to San Diego State after one year at Cal State Fullerton. She participated in 10 meets throughout her true freshman season, competing primarily in the hurdle races. She ended her season on the podium, winning bronze in the 100m hurdles at the Big West Outdoor Championships with a personal best 13.73, as well as a sixth-place finish in the 400m hurdles. During indoor season, she ran a leg on the Titans’ fifth-place 4x400m relay team at the MPSF Championships. She owns personal bests of 1:01.30 in the 400m hurdles and 59.34 in the outdoor 400m dash as well as an 8.66 in the indoor 60m hurdles.
Emily van Vurkenburg | Distances | Sammamis, Wash. (Oregon State)
Vurkenburg comes to The Mesa after spending her first two collegiate years at Oregon State. As a true freshman, she scored points in the NCAA Cross Country Championships, NCAA West Regionals and PAC-12 Championships including a career best 20:22.9 at the regional meet. Her best individual finish was a third-place effort at the 2022 Ash Creek Invitational, helping the Beavers to a team victory. On the track, she owns personal bests of 9:54.75 in the 3,000m and a 16:57.43 in the 5,000m both set in her 2023 campaign.
Mikaela Warr | Sprints | Santa Clarita, Calif. (Canyon HS)
Warr joins San Diego State after prepping at Canyon High School in Santa Clarita, Calif. She ended her high school career as the 100m CIF State Champion in the 100m, running a personal best 11.41 at the state meet in May. In the same meet, she also qualified for the 200m, 4x100m and 4x400m state finals. A four-time Foothill League champion, she won back-to-back 100m and 4x100m relay crowns in her junior and senior seasons. Outside of Canyon High School, she also competed at the 2022 and 2023 USATF Southern California Association Junior Olympic Championships and USATF Region 15 Junior Olympic Championships where she won back-to-back 100m gold medals as well as a 200m gold medal in 2022. Warr owns personal bests of 7.58 (60m), 11.41 (100m), 23.85 (200m) and 59.44 (400m).