DAVIS, Calif. – As UC Davis cross country races into their 2024 season, anticipation rises to showcase the newcomers that have been added to their formidable roster, and with a total class of 17 Aggies head coach Emma Petersen can feel good about the depth she has created.
 
"This was a tremendous effort to recruit California's top high school runners to come to UC Davis," said Petersen. "And the result is our strongest class in the past six year."
 
The class is made up of twelve female athletes and five male athletes, and within that class the Aggies welcome 15 freshmen and two transfers to Davis. All 17 incoming Aggies are natives of California, making up a strong corps of student-athletes who choose to stay home within the boards of the "Golden State".
 
11 of the incoming Aggies hail from Northern California, while six athletes have made the trip north to join their incoming teammates.
 
"We are welcoming all-state talents like Grace Dunham from St. Francis Sacramento and Hayden Brooks from Poderosa," added Petersen.  "As well as exceptional athletes from Southern California, including Lauren Villegas and Caden Hicks. 

"We were especially thrilled to sign a Davis High School graduate in Lucas Tam, who we hope can be a key middle-distance runner for us in the spring when we get into the track season. Muhammed Ahmed and Jacob Lawrence are two experienced leaders that we are fortunate to add to our men's side. They bring a high-level of collegiate running experience and will be a tremendous asset."
 
Incoming Female Aggies
 
Kiah Aitken (Lodi High School, Acampo, Calif.) 
Aitken was a multi-sport athlete for the Flames, competing in basketball, track and field, and cross-country throughout her time at Lodi. Notably, she was one of three athletes out of 500 to be a tri-sport athlete. She found her name atop multiple school records and rankings, including first in the 800 and 4x800. 
 
Aitken was also an individual qualifier for state in 2021, and from 2021-2023 was the TCAL league individual and team champion. To round out her impressive career thus far, she garnered her team's MVP accolades in 2021, 2022, and 2024. 
 
Emily Allison (Granite Bay High School, Rocklin, Calif.) 
Allison maintained Academic Honors all four years of high school, and is a lifetime member of the California Scholarship Federation. Athletically for the Grizzly Bears, she set school records for the Distance Medley 4x800 and 4x1600 Relays. 
 
She also made the Sierra Foothill League First Team, and made third team across all of Northern California. A standalone star, she also made it to state as an individual in the 3200-meter event to wrap up her senior season. 
 
Jenna Calvert (Franklin High School, Elk Grove, Calif.) 
An Aggie through and through, Jenna Calvert comes to Davis as the first girl in Franklin High School's history to qualify for the CIF Cross Country State Championships; and doubled this achievement for 2022 and 2023. She currently holds three school records for the 2-mile, 3-mile, and 3.2-mile races, and currently holds the fastest 3-mile time in the San Joaquin Section. 
 
Her father competed in wrestling for the Aggies, giving her a strong connection to her own Aggie Pride.
 
Grace Dunham (St. Francis High School, Sacramento, Calif.) 
In Dunham's senior year with the Troubadours, she earned team's MVP for both track and cross country in 2024. She won the SFHS Booster Club Scholar Athlete Award in 2024, alongside multiple recognitions across the All Delta League, including the title of 2023 Cross Country Champion. In her impressive showcase of talent, she was a state qualifier for the 4x800 and 1600 in both 2023 and 2024. 
 
Kirra Fisk (La Jolla High School, San Diego, Calif.)
Fisk was the Eastern League Runner of the Year from 2020-2022, and part of CIF All-Second Team in 2021 and 2022. She helped bring her team to victory as the CIF Champions in 2022 and 2023, and remained undefeated as Champion of the Eastern League for cross country all four years. Additionally, she tried her hand at water polo, but more notably set the track school record for the 3200-meter race.  
 
A member of the Cum Laude Society, Fisk was named to San Diego's All-Academic Team from 2021-2024.
 
Cassidy Kajita (Thousand Oaks High School, Thousand Oaks, Calif.) 
Kajita was the team MVP in the 2022 and 2023 seasons for the Lancers. She was part of Marmonte League First Team in 2022 and 2023, and Ventura County First Team (2023) and Second Team (2022). Moreover, she was the Distance Track MVP in 2023 and 2024 and Ventura County Champion for the 1600m in 2023. To round out her high school career, Kajita was also named Marmonte League Champion in 2024 for the 3200m. 
 
Fiona McGrath (Canyon Crest Academy, Solana Beach, Calif.)
Most notably, McGrath was a multi-sport athlete for the Ravens, and not only ran cross country and track and field, but also took to the water and earned two varsity letters for water polo in the years 2021-2023.
 
Tauren Mitchell (Westmont High School, Campbell, Calif.)
Mitchell was a multi-sport athlete for the Warriors of Westmont High, competing on the cross country, track and field, and soccer teams and excelling in all three. She earned the title of 2024 Senior Athlete of the Year, and garnered the 2024 Coach's Award for cross country. 
 
She set three course school records for the cross country team, and was CCS Finisher, State Qualifier, and MVP two years in a row. This four-year letterwinner was also named First Team All-League and she helped the Warriors to a BVAL Championship her junior and senior year, and they went undefeated in the league from 2021-22. 
 
Kayla Towne (St. Francis High School, Sacramento, Calif.)
Named All-Delta league four times in both track and cross country, Towne was also a two-time MVP in distance running. And she anchored her school's 4x800 Relay that took home a school record.
 
Towne's mother, Laurie, helped install a sense of Aggie Pride into the young runner, as Laurie played softball at Davis.
 
Gracie Trenam (Mary Carillo High School, Santa Rosa, Calif.)
Named All-Empire Girls Cross Country First-Team (2022-2023) and Second Team (2021), Trenam was a four-year varsity letter winner at Mary Carillo High School, winning titles as MVP, Most Improved, and Most Outstanding Athlete: COVID Edition. 
 
She also advanced to CIF State Cross Country Championships in 2021, 2022, and 2023, and advanced to CIF North Coast Section Meet of Champions in 2022 and 2023 for the 1600m and 3200m. 
 
Angelina Valladares, UC Davis (Canoga Park High School, Monterey Park, Calif.)
Valladares set seven school records at Canoga Park High School across her cross country and track career. She was named the Los Angeles City Champion in 2023 and 2024, with her team in 2021 and 2023. And she participated in the Cross Country State Championships in 2021, 2022, and 2023, and for track in 2023 and 2024. She also earned the LAUSD Scholar Athlete Award for track (2021-2024) and cross country (2020-2023). 
 
Lauren Villegas (Ruben S. Ayala High School, Chino, Calif.) 
A San Bernardino County Cross Country champion, Villegas finished top 15 in Southern Section Division Two at the 2023 CIF finals. She was the 2024 Varsity League champion league finalist in the 3200m and sits second all-time in the 3-mile and 3200m and fifth all time in the 1600m in high school record books.
 
Incoming Male Aggies
 
Caden Hicks (University City High School, San Diego, Calif.) 
Hicks assisted his team in victory in the Western League Championships for cross country in 2022 and for track and field in 2023 and 2024. He is decorated in the Western League as Runner of the Year in 2021, 2022, and 2023. 
 
He was also named UCHS Scholar Athlete of the Year, and University City High School Track and Field MVP. Hicks currently holds the 3200m school record and earned the Breitbard Certificate of Athletic Achievement for XC in 2022-2023 and T&F in 2023-2024. 
 
Hayden Brooks (Ponderosa High School, Cameron Park, Calif.)
Individually, Brooks placed 9th overall at CIF State Championships for cross country. He nestled his way into top 5 all-time spots on the Ponderosa leaderboards in all distance races between 800-5000 meters. He also led his school's cross country squad to second place finishes in the San Joaquin Section in 2022 and 2023. He also represented the Ponderosa Bruins when they placed 4th in CIF State Championships in 2023. 
 
Lucas Tam (Davis Senior High School, Davis, Calif.) 
In his senior year alone, Tam garnered two impressive titles, Delta League Champion and Delta League Runner of the Year for Cross Country. He was also Delta All-League recipient for track his sophomore year, and his team's track MVP his junior year. Tam was also a multi-sport athlete, as he also competed with on the Elite Clubs National League side, Davis Legacy Soccer Club from 2019-2022, and was team captain and MVP of his high school soccer team. 
 
Jacob Lawrence (Amador Valley High School, Pleasanton, Calif.) 
Lawrence joins the Aggies with formidable merit from 2021. He was named the Coast Conference Champion, where he set a course record. He also got third place at the NJCAA All-American Cross Country meet that same year. To round out a spectacular season for him, Lawrence set the Toro Park course record in 2021 with a 19:44 in the 4-mile and had an impressive 8k debut at the Santa Clara Bronco with a time of 24:14. 
 
Born and raised in Pleasanton, California, Lawrence joins the Aggies after an incredible feat of recovery. He had suffered a grand Mal seizure before his senior year, which resulted in him having to undergo brain surgery. However, this occurrence did not subdue his passion for his sport and he worked back to speaking and running again.
 
Muhammed Ahmed (Junior, Chabot College, Newark, Calif.)
Ahmed was the reigning Coast Conference champion in 2022. During his time at Chabot College, he was a two-time Junior College All-American, and the school record holder in the 10k, and former record holder in the 5k. 
 
Ahmed placed 2nd in State in the 10k and 3rd place in the 5k. With his time at Newark Memorial High School he was named the cross country MVP in 2021. A tri-sport athlete, he also played varsity soccer for NMHS in his sophomore and junior year.