Catnip Award #2…Jolie and the Women’s Track & Field Team

It is that time of year when the Saddleback sports information department produces the top-10 high points in Saddleback College athletics for the calendar year. Catnip Award No. 2 for 2022 goes to – Jolie and the Women’s Track & Field Team.

December 30, 2022

It is that time of year when the Saddleback sports information department produces the top-10 high points in Saddleback College athletics for the calendar year. Catnip Award No. 2 for 2022 goes to – Jolie and the Women's Track & Field Team.

Track & field is one of those sports where an individual can leave such a mark that the team can prosper and achieve new heights as a result. The performance by Jolie Robinson at the CCCAA State Finals was just that, as she led the Bobcats to the highest finish in the history of the program. In fact, some around the athletic department are calling it the single greatest performance in the history of athletics at the school. As a result, Robinson was the voted the Most Outstanding Women's Field Performer at the state championships and was later named the California Community College Sports Information Association (CCCSIA) Women's Athlete-of-the-Month (pictured below).

Robinson won three individual state titles at the meet, winning the heptathlon, javelin and long jump to score 30 team points. She opened the meet by winning the javelin throw on Friday and taking a commanding lead in the heptathlon. Robinson's toss of 39.89 meters (130' 10") in the javelin on opening day was a personal-best and defeated her closest competitor by 1.5 feet. She then broke her own school record by finishing the heptathlon on Saturday afternoon with 4,651 points to win by over 250 points. Robinson finished the meet by taking home the title in the long jump when she leaped 5.77 meters (18' 11.25") to win by 3+ inches.

Robinson's performance lifted Saddleback to a third place finish, which was easily the best finish in the history of the program. She wasn't alone, however, as the Bobcats had a number of other great performances at the meet to get them higher on the podium.

Maliyah Medley finished first in the 400 meters and second in the 200 meters. Medley opened by winning the 400 when she crossed the finish line in 54.77 to beat her closest competitor by 0.49 seconds. Medley then closed the day with a second place finish in the 200 meters when she was edged by Riverside City's Hailey Hunt and finishing in 24.34 seconds. As a result of her performance, Medley shared the meet's Most Outstanding Track Athlete honors with two other competitors.

Saddleback had two podium finishers in the triple jump when Chelsea Kerr finished second and Rachel Whitten was third. The two were an eyelash apart as Kerr tied a season-best with a leap of 11.39 meters (37' 4.5") and Whitten set a career-best with a jump of 11.38 meters (37' 4").

Saddleback had yet another top-5 finish when Isabelle Teh finished fourth in the pole vault with a vault of 3.30 meters (10' 10").

It all added up to 67 points for Saddleback, which was good enough for third place and just two points out of second. Riverside City finished with 69 points while host Mt. San Antonio College won the meet with 115.5 points. Saddleback's third place finish eclipsed a program-best of fifth place back in 1986.

Following the season, Robinson went on to sign a scholarship to compete at UC Irvine. In addition, she has already been enshrined by the school to a certain degree as her image was added as one of the 40-foot banners on the side of the stadium.

As if that wasn't enough, Robinson then traded in her track & field gear for volleyball gear and helped the women's indoor team to a spot in the Southern California Regional Playoffs.