Long Beach State Adds Four Multis Athletes for Upcoming Season
11/18/2022 10:27:00 AM | Indoor Track, Track and Field
There will be two new multi-event athletes for both the men’s and women’s teams this year.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Long Beach State has added four student-athletes to the multi-events group for the upcoming 2023 campaign. The quartet is made up of three freshman and one transfer.
Women's Commits
Sofia Bailey – Junior; Richmond, Calif. (UC Santa Barbara)
Switching Big West schools, Bailey comes to Long Beach after two years at UC Santa Barbara. With the Gauchos she was a 2022 All-Big West performer in the Heptathlon with 4,655 points for third place. She finished top four in every Heptathlon she competed in last season, including a runner-up finish at the UCSB Invite. Bailey's lifetime-best in the event came at the 2021 Big West Championships where she finished fourth overall with 4,672 points as a freshman.
Allison Bryan – Freshman, Yakima; Wash. (East Valley HS)
Bryan comes to Long Beach State after being a multi-sport athlete at East Valley High School playing basketball, doing cheerleading, and competing in track and field. As a senior in high school, she was a First Team All-League selection for sprints, hurdles, and jumps after claiming the league titles in the 100m and 300m Hurdles, 200m Dash, and Long Jump. The multis specialist was also the 100m Hurdles and Long Jump champion as a junior. Her time of 46.71 in the 300m Hurdles is the current record at East Valley High School.
Men's Commits
Clay Ballard – Freshman; Davis, Calif. (Davis SR HS)
Ballard is a multis competitor joining LBSU after three years of competition at Davis SR High School. He was the 2021 League Champion in the 400m and ultimately went on to medal at the Nor-Cal Track Championships with a third-place finish. He comes from a family of track athletes, with his mom competing at Cal Poly and both of his grandparents owning world records in long jump and the decathlon, respectively. Ballard owns PRs of 11.74 in the 100m, 23.41 in the 200m, 50.38 in the 400m, 2:04.43 in the 800m, 5' 8" in High Jump, and 19' 3.5" in Long Jump.
Milo Orona – Freshman; Los Angeles, Calif. (St. Francis HS)
Orona joins the Beach after four years of track and field, two years of basketball, and one season of football at St. Francis High School. He was named an Indoor All-American as a senior after making it to the CIF-Southern Section Finals and helping his team win a league title. Set to compete in the multis events, he owns lifetime-bests of 15.3 in the 110m Hurdles, 6' 2" in High Jump, 10.5" in Long Jump, 2:54 in the 1000m and 3,391 total points in the Pentathlon.
The group of four joins the 10 new jumpers on the team for the 2023 season.
Women's Commits
Sofia Bailey – Junior; Richmond, Calif. (UC Santa Barbara)
Switching Big West schools, Bailey comes to Long Beach after two years at UC Santa Barbara. With the Gauchos she was a 2022 All-Big West performer in the Heptathlon with 4,655 points for third place. She finished top four in every Heptathlon she competed in last season, including a runner-up finish at the UCSB Invite. Bailey's lifetime-best in the event came at the 2021 Big West Championships where she finished fourth overall with 4,672 points as a freshman.
Allison Bryan – Freshman, Yakima; Wash. (East Valley HS)
Bryan comes to Long Beach State after being a multi-sport athlete at East Valley High School playing basketball, doing cheerleading, and competing in track and field. As a senior in high school, she was a First Team All-League selection for sprints, hurdles, and jumps after claiming the league titles in the 100m and 300m Hurdles, 200m Dash, and Long Jump. The multis specialist was also the 100m Hurdles and Long Jump champion as a junior. Her time of 46.71 in the 300m Hurdles is the current record at East Valley High School.
Men's Commits
Clay Ballard – Freshman; Davis, Calif. (Davis SR HS)
Ballard is a multis competitor joining LBSU after three years of competition at Davis SR High School. He was the 2021 League Champion in the 400m and ultimately went on to medal at the Nor-Cal Track Championships with a third-place finish. He comes from a family of track athletes, with his mom competing at Cal Poly and both of his grandparents owning world records in long jump and the decathlon, respectively. Ballard owns PRs of 11.74 in the 100m, 23.41 in the 200m, 50.38 in the 400m, 2:04.43 in the 800m, 5' 8" in High Jump, and 19' 3.5" in Long Jump.
Milo Orona – Freshman; Los Angeles, Calif. (St. Francis HS)
Orona joins the Beach after four years of track and field, two years of basketball, and one season of football at St. Francis High School. He was named an Indoor All-American as a senior after making it to the CIF-Southern Section Finals and helping his team win a league title. Set to compete in the multis events, he owns lifetime-bests of 15.3 in the 110m Hurdles, 6' 2" in High Jump, 10.5" in Long Jump, 2:54 in the 1000m and 3,391 total points in the Pentathlon.
The group of four joins the 10 new jumpers on the team for the 2023 season.
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