(L-R) Sam Novak, Kai Anderson, Shelly Coates
Sam Novak, Kai Anderson, Shelly Coates To Join Bears
BERKELEY – California track & field has announced the signing of three pole vaulters in Sam Novak, Kai Anderson and Shelly Coates,, who will join the Golden Bears as incoming freshmen for the 2025-26 season.
A native of Paradise Valley, Arizona, Novak competes for Phoenix Country Day School and the Risen Performance club team. He is the reigning Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) state champion, a two-time AIA Division V champion (2023-24) and owns his school’s all-time record with a personal best of 5.18m (17-0). This past season, he also competed at the USA Track & Field (USATF) U20 Championships, placing sixth, and followed that up with an appearance at the Nike Outdoor Nationals. Novak has been the state of Arizona’s top pole vaulter for his grade level in each of the past three years, also ranking as the nation’s No. 2 junior in 2024 and No. 4 sophomore in 2023. He plans to major in business at Cal.
Anderson, who hails from San Diego, is the reigning California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) state champion and University City High School record-holder with a personal best of 5.08m (16-8) that was the third-best mark in the state (and second best by a junior) in 2024. He previously reached the CIF State finals in 2023 as California’s top sophomore after winning the first of his two Western League titles following a runner-up league finish the previous year. Anderson was also the UCHS student body secretary and played for its football team. A member of Future Health Professionals, he will major in molecular and cell biology at Cal.
Coates, who lives in Temecula and competes for both Great Oak High School and Puma Track Club, is coming off appearances at the 2024 Nike Outdoor Nationals and the CIF State finals following her second consecutive runner-up finish at the CIF-South Section (SS) Masters Meet with a personal best of 3.89m (12-9) – the second-best result by a junior (and sixth-best overall) in the state. She was also the No. 2 sophomore in the state and 2022’s top California freshman, breaking her school’s rookie record. Coates is currently ranked in the top 10 percent of her graduating class and has received three academic letters as well as…
CLICK HERE to Read the Full Original Article at California Golden Bears Athletics…