Hazel Rhodes Named WSC Female Track Athlete of the Year, Kane & Howard-Hill Bring Home Coach of the Year Awards

Women's track & field student-athlete Hazel Rhodes from College of the Canyons team runs with a relay baton during a track meet, wearing sunglasses and a blue-and-gold uniform. The graphic announces Hazel Rhodes as the Western State Conference Track & Field Female Athlete of the Year, with a cougar logo in the top-right corner.
May 27, 2026

By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director  

For the second year in a row, College of the Canyons sophomore sprinter Hazel Rhodes has been named the Western State Conference (WSC) Female Track Athlete of the Year after winning back-to-back 3C2A individual state championships in the 400m event.

Rhodes, who also won the 2026 3C2A Southern California Regional Championship (400m), a pair of WSC individual titles (200m & 400m) and ran anchor on both the 4x100 and 4x400 conference championship relay teams, headlines the Cougars' 2026 class of All-WSC honorees which includes a combined 38 selections across the men's and women's programs. 

Awards were presented based on performance at the 2026 WSC Track & Field Championships held April 17 and 24.

Additionally, COC head coach Lindie Kane was named the WSC Women's Track & Field Coach of the Year, with assistant coach Denean Howard-Hill recognized as the conference's Women's Track & Field Assistant Coach of the Year.

In addition to bringing home five individual conference titles, the Cougars placed second in the women's team standings at the WSC championships. COC also boasted two individual 3C2A Southern California Regional Championships (Rhodes/400m & Monique Fulling/400h) while finishing sixth in the regional team standings. The Cougars also placed seventh in the team standings at the state championship meet.

Rhodes capped her history-making Cougar career at the 2026 3C2A State Championship meet where she successfully defended her own 400m state title by clocking a time of 54.78 to easily top the field by nearly two seconds.

The back-to-back state titles claimed by Rhodes are the first in COC women's track & field program history, and only the second in school history. Rhodes joins COC Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Chris Low in the 800m (2010 & 2011) as the only back-to-back track & field state champions in program history. Her most recent state championship is the fourth in women's program history, all coming under Kane.

Rhodes also finished third in the 200m (24.08) at the state championship meet and ran the final leg of the 4x400 relay, which also placed third (3:53.47).

Those combined performances earned Rhodes JC All-American designations in the 400m, 200m and 4x400 relay. She is also a 3C2A All-State honoree in all three events.

Her 3C2A Southern California Regional Championship in the 400m came at time of 54.32.

Rhodes is also the school record holder in the 200m (24.08) and 400m (53.99) with both of those times achieved during the 2026 season.

In all, she has won six individual WSC championships over her two-year Canyons career: 200m (2006), 400m (2025 & 2026), 4x400 relay (2025 & 2026), 4x100 relay (2026).

Other All-State selections for the Cougars' women's team included: Fulling/400h, Syrai Piper/4x400 relay, Amara Shields/4x400 relay and Victoria Jamison/5,000m. 

Fulling earned a JC All-American designation for her runner-up finish in the 400h and was also honored alongside Piper, Shields and Rhodes as a JC All-American in the 4x400 relay.

The men's team was led by Antonio Moore/400h and Esaias Ellis/triple jump in earning All-State awards.

A full list of 2026 All-WSC selections is included below.

WOMEN

200m
 Hazel Rhodes – 1st Team (champion)

400m
 Hazel Rhodes – 1st Team (champion)
Amara Shields – 1st Team (3rd)
Syrai Piper – 2nd Team (6th)

800m
 Liliana Moreira – Honorable Mention (8th)
Alyssa Arriaga – Honorable Mention (9th)

1500m
Victoria Jamison – 1st Team (2nd)

5000m
Victoria Jamison – 1st Team (3rd)

100h
Monique Fulling – 1st Team (3rd)

400h
Monique Fulling – 1st Team (champion)

3K Steeplechase
Ruby Salazar – Honorable Mention (8th)

4x100 relay
 Fulling, Shields, Piper, Rhodes – 1st Team (champion)

4x400 relay
Fulling, Shields, Piper, Rhodes – 1st Team (champion)

Discus
Kayla Hargrove – Honorable Mention (9th)

Javelin
Gabriella Nickels – 2nd Team (4th)

Hammer
Chantel Ornelas – Honorable Mention (7th)
Gabriella Nickels – Honorable Mention (8th)

MEN

100M
 Thurlee Bowers – 1st Team (champion)
Elijah Reid – 1st Team (3rd)

200m
Elijah Reid – 2nd Team (5th)
Josh Smith – Honorable Mention (7th)

400m
Josh Smith – 1st Team (2nd)

800m
AJ Cueto – 1st Team (3rd)
Elisha Himsl – 2nd Team (6th)
Isaac Ornelas – Honorable Mention (7th)

5000m
Josue Lopez – 2nd Team (5th)

110h
Antonio Moore – 1st Team (champion)
Chris Buitrago – Honorable Mention (7th)

400h
Antonio Moore – 1st Team (champion)
Matthew Grinder – Honorable Mention (7th)

3K steeplechase
Alejandro Cueto – 2nd Team (4th)
Spencer Easterbrook – Honorable Mention (8th)
Nathan Parras – Honorable Mention (9th)

4x100 relay
Josh Smith, Elijah Reid, Antonio Moore, Thurlee Bowers – 1st Team (2nd)

Shot Put
Jonathan Kanaley – Honorable Mention (7th)

High Jump
 Thurlee Bowers – 2nd team (5th)

Triple Jump
Esaias Ellis – 2nd team (2nd)

Hammer
Jonathan Kanaley – 1st Team (3rd)

Stay up to date on all this season's action by following the College of the Canyons Athletic department on social media at @COCathletics on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. 

—Photo by Robert Hanashiro/COC Sports Information