Long Beach State Welcomes Nine Talented Jumpers for 2023 Season
11/17/2022 12:00:00 PM | Indoor Track, Track and Field
The class features an even split of four freshmen and five transfers.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – The Long Beach State Track and Field team is adding 10 newcomers to its historic jumps program for the upcoming 2023 season. The class features five for the women's team and five for the men's team.
Women's Commits
KiiKii Brown – Freshman; York, UK (Queen Ethelburga's College)
One of four international recruits, Brown joins the Beach from the United Kingdom where she competed for Leeds City A.C. in England for 10 years. There, she was a two-time National Long Jump Medalist in both 2020 and 2022 along with the Northern Championship in both Long Jump and Triple Jump. From 2018-22, the native of York was a five-peat Yorkshire Champion and added the 2022 Triple Jump Champion to her list as well.
Hannah Butler – Freshman, Clovis; Calif. (Buchanan HS)
Butler joins the historic jumps program at the Beach after two years of High Jump at Buchanan High School. As a freshman in 2019, she set her school's record at 5' 6" in High Jump just to beat it the following year with a clearance of 5' 8" and win the award for Most Valuable Field Athlete. Butler played a key role on a team that won two CIF-Central Section titles as well as a State championship in her freshman season.
Annie Murphy – Freshman; Lake Geneva, Wis. (Castell HS)
A multi-sport athlete, Murphy was a level 10 gymnast and golfer in high school along with competition in track and field. She began pole vaulting as a junior and went on to win the Wisconsin State High School Pole Vault and Triple Jump championships in 2021. For her final high school season, she trained in Arizona and won the Arizona State High School Championship in 2022 while also finishing second in Triple Jump and fourth in Long Jump. Outside of high school competition, she was the USATF State and Region 8 Pole Vault Champion in 2022 with a lifetime-best mark of 13' 1.25".
Charlotte O'Connor – Freshman; San Diego, Calif. (Rancho Bernardo HS)
O'Connor begins her collegiate career after four years of pole vaulting at Rancho Bernardo High School. She was a top four finisher at the CIF Championships in consecutive seasons to close out her high school career with a third place finish as a junior and fourth place as a senior. She also went to finish 13th at the CIF State Championship Prelims. Her lifetime-best in Pole Vault is a 12' 6" clearance.
Natasha Tehrani – Redshirt Sophomore; Fremont, Calif. (Hawaii)
Another inter-Big West transfer, Tehrani joins Long Beach State after competing at the University of Hawai'i. With the Rainbow Wahine, she posted lifetime bests of 12' 6.25" in Pole Vault and 35' 9.25" in Triple Jump to finish fifth in both events at the MPSF Indoor Championships last year. During the outdoor season, she had six top ten finishes including a second-place effort at the OSU High Performance Meet leading up to a tenth-place finish at the Big West Championships. As a high schooler she a two-time MVAL Champion, one in Triple Jump and one in Long Jump.
Men's Commits
DeQuan Guillebeau – Sophomore; Riverside, Calif. (Riverside City College)
Guillebeau is a junior college transfer from Riverside City College where he spent his first two years, but lost one year of competition due to COVID. With the Tigers, he competed in Long Jump and Javelin, setting personal bests of 23' 2" in Long Jump and 53m in Javelin. His team would go on to win the 2021 league title and finish second in Southern California. He did not get started in track and field until his junior year of high school when he ran sprints and helped the team finish third in league.
LaSalle Jackson – Sophomore; Long Beach, Calif. (Long Beach CC)
Jackson was a jumper at Long Beach CC for his true freshman season, competing primarily in the Triple Jump. He finished second at the South Coast Conference Championship with a mark of 48' 10" and finished third at the California Community College state meet, earning JuCo All-American honors after jumping 49' 2". In high school, he jumped for three seasons and won back-to-back San Gabriel Valley League titles in Triple Jump as a junior and senior.
Novye' James – Sophomore; Moreno Valley, Calif. (Riverside City College)
James was also at Riverside City College, competing primarily in Long Jump and Triple Jump for two seasons. There, he posted personal records of 25' 2" in Long Jump and 50' 7" in Triple Jump, helping his team win the league championships in 2021. A multi-sport athlete in high school, he played football along with track and field for all four years.
Kyle Jankans – Junior; Anaheim, Calif. (San Jose State)
Jankans comes to Long Beach State after two years at San Jose State. As a Spartan, he was the 2022 Mountain West indoor runner-up for High Jump, clearing a lifetime-best 2.14m (7' 0.25") and the 2021 Mountain West Outdoor Championships runner-up. Last season, he set an outdoor PR of 22' 4.5" in Long Jump and has totaled five event victories in his career thus far.
Women's Commits
KiiKii Brown – Freshman; York, UK (Queen Ethelburga's College)
One of four international recruits, Brown joins the Beach from the United Kingdom where she competed for Leeds City A.C. in England for 10 years. There, she was a two-time National Long Jump Medalist in both 2020 and 2022 along with the Northern Championship in both Long Jump and Triple Jump. From 2018-22, the native of York was a five-peat Yorkshire Champion and added the 2022 Triple Jump Champion to her list as well.
Hannah Butler – Freshman, Clovis; Calif. (Buchanan HS)
Butler joins the historic jumps program at the Beach after two years of High Jump at Buchanan High School. As a freshman in 2019, she set her school's record at 5' 6" in High Jump just to beat it the following year with a clearance of 5' 8" and win the award for Most Valuable Field Athlete. Butler played a key role on a team that won two CIF-Central Section titles as well as a State championship in her freshman season.
Annie Murphy – Freshman; Lake Geneva, Wis. (Castell HS)
A multi-sport athlete, Murphy was a level 10 gymnast and golfer in high school along with competition in track and field. She began pole vaulting as a junior and went on to win the Wisconsin State High School Pole Vault and Triple Jump championships in 2021. For her final high school season, she trained in Arizona and won the Arizona State High School Championship in 2022 while also finishing second in Triple Jump and fourth in Long Jump. Outside of high school competition, she was the USATF State and Region 8 Pole Vault Champion in 2022 with a lifetime-best mark of 13' 1.25".
Charlotte O'Connor – Freshman; San Diego, Calif. (Rancho Bernardo HS)
O'Connor begins her collegiate career after four years of pole vaulting at Rancho Bernardo High School. She was a top four finisher at the CIF Championships in consecutive seasons to close out her high school career with a third place finish as a junior and fourth place as a senior. She also went to finish 13th at the CIF State Championship Prelims. Her lifetime-best in Pole Vault is a 12' 6" clearance.
Natasha Tehrani – Redshirt Sophomore; Fremont, Calif. (Hawaii)
Another inter-Big West transfer, Tehrani joins Long Beach State after competing at the University of Hawai'i. With the Rainbow Wahine, she posted lifetime bests of 12' 6.25" in Pole Vault and 35' 9.25" in Triple Jump to finish fifth in both events at the MPSF Indoor Championships last year. During the outdoor season, she had six top ten finishes including a second-place effort at the OSU High Performance Meet leading up to a tenth-place finish at the Big West Championships. As a high schooler she a two-time MVAL Champion, one in Triple Jump and one in Long Jump.
Men's Commits
DeQuan Guillebeau – Sophomore; Riverside, Calif. (Riverside City College)
Guillebeau is a junior college transfer from Riverside City College where he spent his first two years, but lost one year of competition due to COVID. With the Tigers, he competed in Long Jump and Javelin, setting personal bests of 23' 2" in Long Jump and 53m in Javelin. His team would go on to win the 2021 league title and finish second in Southern California. He did not get started in track and field until his junior year of high school when he ran sprints and helped the team finish third in league.
LaSalle Jackson – Sophomore; Long Beach, Calif. (Long Beach CC)
Jackson was a jumper at Long Beach CC for his true freshman season, competing primarily in the Triple Jump. He finished second at the South Coast Conference Championship with a mark of 48' 10" and finished third at the California Community College state meet, earning JuCo All-American honors after jumping 49' 2". In high school, he jumped for three seasons and won back-to-back San Gabriel Valley League titles in Triple Jump as a junior and senior.
Novye' James – Sophomore; Moreno Valley, Calif. (Riverside City College)
James was also at Riverside City College, competing primarily in Long Jump and Triple Jump for two seasons. There, he posted personal records of 25' 2" in Long Jump and 50' 7" in Triple Jump, helping his team win the league championships in 2021. A multi-sport athlete in high school, he played football along with track and field for all four years.
Kyle Jankans – Junior; Anaheim, Calif. (San Jose State)
Jankans comes to Long Beach State after two years at San Jose State. As a Spartan, he was the 2022 Mountain West indoor runner-up for High Jump, clearing a lifetime-best 2.14m (7' 0.25") and the 2021 Mountain West Outdoor Championships runner-up. Last season, he set an outdoor PR of 22' 4.5" in Long Jump and has totaled five event victories in his career thus far.
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