Runner Jaden DeSouza competes in hurdles at NCAA Regionals in May 2025

Breaking her own record: Jaden DeSouza, center, sets a personal best in the 400m hurdles at NCAA Regionals. / Photo by Brendan Maloney

For Saint Mary’s Women’s Track & Field, These Record-Setting Runners Make Their Mark at the NCAA West Regionals

Jaden DeSouza ’25 and Rayna Stanziano ’23, MFA ’25 finish their careers as Gael student-athletes setting program bests—and representing Saint Mary’s in the Outdoor Track West Regionals in College Station.

by Ryan Barnett, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications | June 6, 2025

For the second straight year, Saint Mary’s Women’s Track was represented by a pair of runners competing at the NCAA Outdoor Track West Regionals. Jaden DeSouza ’25 and Rayna Stanziano ’23, MFA ’25 took to the track at EB Cushing Stadium on the campus of Texas A&M, with the races streamed on ESPN+. Both student-athletes went into the competition already holding program bests at Saint Mary’s. And DeSouza put a bow on her career as a Gael by running her fastest time ever in the 400m hurdles.

Jaden DeSouza Breaks Her Own Record, Competes in Quarter Finals of 400m Hurdles

Jaden DeSouza was the first to compete, taking the track in the 400-meter hurdles the evening of May 29. The senior out of Lihue, Hawaii, had shattered the Saint Mary’s program record in this event five times throughout the year, with her fastest prior to the NCAA Regionals coming on May 3 at the Oxy Invitational (58.88). That time already earned her a spot in the top 100 in the country, and the 50th fastest in the West Region.

Runner Jaden DeSouza runs 400m hurdles at NCAA Regionals in May 2025 — Leaping the hurdles: **Jaden DeSouza** was a virtual Swiss army knife of an athlete at Saint Mary’s and finishes with a host of program bests. / *Photo by Brendan Maloney*

On the track at College Station, DeSouza ran her fastest race ever in the 400m hurdles, finishing with a blazing fast time of 58.20—good enough to make her the 20th fastest time in a field of 48 runners, and to qualify for the quarter finals on May 31. Running in lane two, DeSouza had a slower start, sitting in eighth at the third hurdle, but began to kick at the first straightaway. At the halfway mark, she began to run her race and began picking off the competitors in front of her. With two hurdles to go, DeSouza worked her way into the top five, and maintained that all the way to the finish line. The top three from each heat qualified automatically for Saturday’s quarter finals, but the next six fastest times would also earn at-large bids. DeSouza ran in the second of six heats, so it was a grueling wait to see if her time would hold up. As it turned out, that heat was the second fastest at the race, and DeSouza qualified in top 24, finishing 20th overall.

For the quarter finals on May 31, DeSouza again ran in the most inside lane—and threw down a brilliant time, the second fastest of her career at 58.41, just shy of her time two nights before. Again, it was thanks to that kick in the final straightaway. Overall, DeSouza finished with the 20th fastest time in the 400m hurdles National Quarterfinals.

In the annals of Saint Mary’s, DeSouza will leave as the program record holder in an exhausting array of events: the 400m, 600m, 60m hurdles, 100m hurdles, 400m hurdles, high jump, javelin, and heptathlon— while running legs in the program record 4x400m, 4x800m sprint medley, and distance medley relay teams. Whew! She was a virtual Swiss army knife for Saint Mary’s Women's Track while earning her degree in Environmental Science. She was also honored with the Class of 2025 George R. McKeon Student Athlete Award, which recognizes a female student and a male student distinguished both as an outstanding athlete and scholar.

Runners on the track, including SMC's Rayna Stanziono in the center, at NCAA Regionals in May 2025 — Repping at regionals: **Rayna Stanziano**, center, in the semifinals for the 5000m at NCAA Regionals. She holds the Saint Mary’s program record in this event and others—as well as a pair of degrees from SMC. / *Photo by Brendan Maloney*

Rayna Stanziano Returns to Regionals in the 5000m

Back to regionals for the fourth time in her career, Rayna Stanziano competed in the 5000m semifinals on May 31. The native of Concord, California, also qualified for regionals in the 800m, 1500m, and 5000m, but competed in the 5000m race after running a program record time of 15:46.51 at the Stanford Invitational on April 5. That time was good for 34th in the West Region and 58th fastest in the country.

This was Stanziano’s second time competing in the 5000m at regionals. She settled into the back half of her heat of 24 runners in the 5000m but began making moves on the outside, moving into the middle of the pack at the two-minute mark, and nearer the top 10 at the seven-minute mark. The pack really began to spread out eight and a half minutes in, as Stanziano continued to battle to stay in the mix. She eventually finished at 16:43.83, her sixth fastest career 5000m, and a big improvement from her 2022 5000m run at the NCAA Regionals, when she ran 18:22.29.

Stanziano finishes having made an incredible impact on the track and field program at Saint Mary’s. She holds the program record in the 800m, 1500m, mile, 3000m, and 5000m events, while running legs in the program record 4x400m, 4x800m, and distance medley relay teams. She earned a degree in English summa cum laude before completing her MFA in Creative Nonfiction at Saint Mary’s this year. In 2024, she was named Saint Mary’s Track & Field Female Athlete of the Year.