Cal Poly TF/XC Adds Two Talented Distance Transfers
1/2/2024 1:45:00 PM | Cross Country, Track and Field
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The Mustang track & field and cross country program ringed in the New Year in a big way Tuesday, announcing that a pair of distance runners from Pac-12 schools will be transferring to Cal Poly ahead of the upcoming outdoor track season.
John Lester, who earned Second Team All-American honors in the indoor 800-meter in 2023 while competing for Stanford, is set to join the men's distance squad this winter with three years of eligibility left in outdoor track, two indoors and one in cross country. The women's team is adding Sophia Nordenholz, who competed in the 2022 NCAA Cross Country Championships as a true freshman at the University of Washington. Nordenholz will enroll at Cal Poly this spring and has three years of eligibility remaining in all three seasons.
Lester, who started his career at Stanford in 2021, shattered the program's school record in the men's indoor 800 at the 2023 Ken Shannon Last Chance Invitational with a time of 1:46.93, placing 10th in the event at the NCAA Indoor Championships that season. He also qualified for the NCAA West Preliminaries in the 800 in 2022 in his sole season competing for the Cardinal outdoors, advancing to the quarterfinals and finishing 22nd overall.
This fall, Lester helped the Stanford men's cross country team capture the Pac-12 Championship. The Pleasanton, Calif. native also ran the 11th-fastest indoor mile time (3:58.84) in Cardinal history in 2023 and posted a personal best in the 1,500 (3:45.50) during his freshman season. He captured first in the 800 at multiple meets indoors and outdoors in his Cardinal career. Lester also excelled in the classroom at Stanford, being named to the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll multiple times and earning USTFCCCA All-Academic honors twice.
Lester attended the same high school as current Cal Poly mid-distance phenom Aidan McCarthy — Amador Valley High. He graduated in 2021, a year after McCarthy. Lester was the No. 1 ranked high school runner in the country in the 800-meter as a senior, posting a time of 1:47.65 — the seventh-fastest in high school history in the U.S. at the time and third-fastest in California history.
Nordenholz shined during her freshman season at Washington in 2022-23, running in the Huskies' top-seven in cross country for all five meets. She was UW's sixth runner at the 2022 NCAA West Regional, placing 46th overall with a personal-best 6K time of 20:09.1 and helping the Washington women finish third as a team to qualify for the NCAA Championships. The Huskies went on to finish 17th at nationals. Nordenholz was also the second Husky to cross the finish line in the 2022 Nuttycombe Invitational, capturing 94th out of over 260 runners.
On the track, the Albany, Calif. native competed in the 2023 Pac-12 Championships, placing 11th in the 5,000-meter (16:38.94). She posted personal bests in the 1,500 (4:25.05) and 5,000 (16:24.02) and also ran unattached during the indoor season, recording PRs in the mile (4:48.64) and 3,000 (9:21.56). Nordenholz did not compete for the Huskies during this past cross country season.
Nordenholz was a coveted prospect coming out Albany High School in 2022. She won the 2021 CIF Division IV state cross country title with a 5K time of 16:46.0 — the fifth-fastest time in the history of the meet and the fastest across all five divisions that year. She took ninth at the 2021 Eastbay National XC Championships and as a senior on the track secured runner-up in the 3,200 at the CIF state meet.
Lester and Nordenholz are expected to be key contributors for the Mustangs on the track this spring. Cal Poly hosts this year's Big West Track & Field Championships on May 3-4 and 10-11 at the Miller & Capriotti Athletics Complex.
Cal Poly continues its indoor season on Saturday, Jan. 13, in Seattle with the UW Indoor Preview.
John Lester, who earned Second Team All-American honors in the indoor 800-meter in 2023 while competing for Stanford, is set to join the men's distance squad this winter with three years of eligibility left in outdoor track, two indoors and one in cross country. The women's team is adding Sophia Nordenholz, who competed in the 2022 NCAA Cross Country Championships as a true freshman at the University of Washington. Nordenholz will enroll at Cal Poly this spring and has three years of eligibility remaining in all three seasons.
Lester, who started his career at Stanford in 2021, shattered the program's school record in the men's indoor 800 at the 2023 Ken Shannon Last Chance Invitational with a time of 1:46.93, placing 10th in the event at the NCAA Indoor Championships that season. He also qualified for the NCAA West Preliminaries in the 800 in 2022 in his sole season competing for the Cardinal outdoors, advancing to the quarterfinals and finishing 22nd overall.
This fall, Lester helped the Stanford men's cross country team capture the Pac-12 Championship. The Pleasanton, Calif. native also ran the 11th-fastest indoor mile time (3:58.84) in Cardinal history in 2023 and posted a personal best in the 1,500 (3:45.50) during his freshman season. He captured first in the 800 at multiple meets indoors and outdoors in his Cardinal career. Lester also excelled in the classroom at Stanford, being named to the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll multiple times and earning USTFCCCA All-Academic honors twice.
Lester attended the same high school as current Cal Poly mid-distance phenom Aidan McCarthy — Amador Valley High. He graduated in 2021, a year after McCarthy. Lester was the No. 1 ranked high school runner in the country in the 800-meter as a senior, posting a time of 1:47.65 — the seventh-fastest in high school history in the U.S. at the time and third-fastest in California history.
Nordenholz shined during her freshman season at Washington in 2022-23, running in the Huskies' top-seven in cross country for all five meets. She was UW's sixth runner at the 2022 NCAA West Regional, placing 46th overall with a personal-best 6K time of 20:09.1 and helping the Washington women finish third as a team to qualify for the NCAA Championships. The Huskies went on to finish 17th at nationals. Nordenholz was also the second Husky to cross the finish line in the 2022 Nuttycombe Invitational, capturing 94th out of over 260 runners.
On the track, the Albany, Calif. native competed in the 2023 Pac-12 Championships, placing 11th in the 5,000-meter (16:38.94). She posted personal bests in the 1,500 (4:25.05) and 5,000 (16:24.02) and also ran unattached during the indoor season, recording PRs in the mile (4:48.64) and 3,000 (9:21.56). Nordenholz did not compete for the Huskies during this past cross country season.
Nordenholz was a coveted prospect coming out Albany High School in 2022. She won the 2021 CIF Division IV state cross country title with a 5K time of 16:46.0 — the fifth-fastest time in the history of the meet and the fastest across all five divisions that year. She took ninth at the 2021 Eastbay National XC Championships and as a senior on the track secured runner-up in the 3,200 at the CIF state meet.
Lester and Nordenholz are expected to be key contributors for the Mustangs on the track this spring. Cal Poly hosts this year's Big West Track & Field Championships on May 3-4 and 10-11 at the Miller & Capriotti Athletics Complex.
Cal Poly continues its indoor season on Saturday, Jan. 13, in Seattle with the UW Indoor Preview.
Players Mentioned
Distance
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