Magazine Fall 2023 Let's Go Warriors

Cross Country

Five-time NAIA National Champion Zola Sokhela became the first individual Warrior to succeed at the NCAA level. During the regular season, he finished outside the top two on just one occasion, and he won two meets to highlight a stellar campaign. At the PacWest Championships in Fresno, Sokhela earned Second Team All-PacWest honors with a 10th-place finish, while Bryce Gardhouse joined him on the All-Conference team with a 12th-place finish. Westmont competed at the National Christian College Athletic Association National Championships at season’s end, and the men finished in second place. Sokhela won the meet with a time of 25:20.50, while Gardhouse finished in third place with a time of 25:29.00. Senior Anneline Breytenbach, the lone Warrior woman to compete, finished the 5K in 11th place.

Golf

The fall season peaked for the Westmont men on October 10 in Goleta, when the Warriors won a four-team tournament at Sand- piper Golf Course. Individually, Peyton Hendricks finished atop the leaderboard after shooting four-under across two rounds. The women won at the PCH Fall Invitational on Halloween, beating Oregon Tech by just four strokes. Individually, Charlie Bloom finished the tournament in second place after shooting 16 over par.

Women's Soccer

The Warriors succeeded at Pepperdine’s Rodionoff Invitational in October, earning a place on the podium on several occasions. Ella Chaisson won the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:29.75 and finished second in the 200-yard medley and third in the 100-yard backstroke. Emma Bustamante, Olivia Garrison and Abigail Rickard all finished just outside the top three in their individual races. At their first-ever instrasquad meet in October, the maroon and white teams went head-to-head in front of a large contingency of the athletic community. The maroon team prevailed over their teammates, 120-84.

Volleyball

The women emerged as the first Warrior team to win an NCAA Division II game when they defeated MSU Mankato (Minn.) 3-1 on September 1 — instantly becoming an answer to a future trivia question. In PacWest play, they swept their first Bay Area trip, leaving with wins over both Dominican and Academy of Art. Defeating Biola at home on October 7 in a five-set thriller was the highlight of the season. Individually, Taylor Distelberg proved to be one of the most formidable West Coast blockers, tallying more than 100 blocks.

Men’s Soccer

Behind first-year coach Morgan Cathey, the men lost five pre-conference matchups and tied two. Then the Warriors opened up PacWest play with a startling 4-0 defeat of Biola on the road, setting the stage for a successful regular season. They ended with a 7-2-1 conference record, finishing alone in second place just three points behind Point Loma. Key victories included defeating Azusa Pacific for Homecoming, Chaminade in Honolulu and Concordia on senior day. Senior Braeden Pryor led the Warriors with a team-high 22 points and eight goals.