Ryan ChartrandHere it is: the third and final edition of the incoming Poly players preview, which highlights freshman athletes in each sport. Watch for this talented group of athletes to make their mark as Mustangs in the coming year and thereafter.
Kevin Jones – Track and Field
Jones, 17, began pole vaulting his freshman year of high school because he heard it was the “easy sport” and he wanted a way out of physical education. In his first year, he vaulted a mere seven feet. Then, in the summer between his freshman and sophomore years he grew a foot, and his second year of the sport vaulted 12.6 feet and won the league in his native San Diego. The following two years, Jones repeated his league wins and continued to heighten his vaults, with a personal record of 16.4 feet. He comes to Cal Poly with the hope of qualifying for NCAA regionals and improving his vault to over 17 feet.
Lea Wallace – Track and Field
The 17-year-old Napa native became interested in Cal Poly through her summer track coach, a Cal Poly alumnus. Wallace said her hopes for next year “would be to improve my times and hold my own in college competition.” Her best times entering Cal Poly are a 57.2 in the 400-meter, a 2:10.4 in the 800-meter and a 5:00.0 in the 1,600 meter. Wallace was trice named Most Valuable Player in both her high school cross country and track teams and was named he Napa Valley Register Athlete of the Year.
Rebecca Tratter – Women’s Basketball
Tratter’s high school basketball career came to a disappointing end when her CCS-bound Sunnyvale team had to forfeit because a player had not turned in the correct paperwork. Despite the circumstances, Tratter, 18, a power forward, was recognized and placed on First Team All-League, and honor she received all four years of high school. She said she will be happy with any playing time she gets in her first year on the Cal Poly women’s basketball team and has hopes that the team will place first in Big West and continue on to the NCAA tournament.
Collin Brooks – Wrestling
The 18-year-old Brooks won the wrestling state championships in his native Oregon his junior year of high school. Through researching schools he decided to leave Oregon for a California college education and Cal Poly offered his major (kinesiology) and “happened to coincide with wrestling,” he said. Brooks enters his first year as a Mustang “preparing to red shirt and just improve for the next year of competition.”
Robert Foy – Men’s Tennis
Foy is the lone incoming Poly player to be highlighted who hails from outside the United States. The 18-year-old comes to Cal Poly from New Zealand, where he gained experience in international play and was one of the country’s top junior tennis players, said women’s tennis coach Hugh Bream. In his first year on the men’s tennis team, Foy will play under the leadership of a new head coach, who is yet to be named by the athletics’ department.
Charles Anderson – Men’s Basketball
As an incoming freshman on the men’s basketball team, 18-year-old Charles Anderson said he chose Cal Poly because of the “good area, and good people.” During high school, Anderson was named First Team All-League three years, and for two years was an All-Area selection. He said his goal for the team next year is to advance to the NCAA tournament, a feat the men’s basketball team has not managed since the 1981-82 season, as a Division II team.
Carrie Andrews – Women’s Soccer
As a high school senior, Carrie Andrews was named the Contra Costa Times Girls Soccer Player of the Year for her part in the team reaching the North Coast Section 3A championship game three consecutive years. The 18-year-old outside/center defensive player, who comes to Cal Poly from Pleasanton, Calif., was also named First Team All-League her senior year.