Witana punches ticket to state in heptathlon
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- For Orange Coast College women's track standout, Nikki Witana, the trip up the California coast was well worth it as she finished fourth overall at the 2026 Southern California Regional Multi Championships, hosted by Cuesta College, on Tuesday and Wednesday.
In the heptathlon, Witana finished with 3,840 points and her fourth-place overall score earned her a spot at this year's upcoming 3C2A Track and Field State Championships, which will take place May 15-16 at Mt. San Antonio College.
Cuyamaca's Makayla Fairman led the way with 4,225 points, followed by San Diego Mesa's Emily Pesch (4,137) and Moorpark's Madison Thai (3,953). Rounding out the top-10 after Witana, includes Cerritos' Taylor Kline (3,779), Riverside's Mabel Gonzalez (3,761), Mt. SAC's Hailey Lutz (3,713), Cuesta's Kristy Huynh (3,676), Long Beach's Zion Peters (3,672) and Santa Barbara's Kaylee Lawson (3,603).
Witana placed in the top-8 in five of her seven events, including a pair of fourth-place performances in the 200-meter run (27.11 seconds) and the javelin throw (90-feet, 3-inches). She also placed fifth overall in the 100 hurdlers with a time of 16.27, a sixth-place throw in the shot put (28-4 1/4) and a seventh-place mark in the 800 (2:34.78).
Witana's trip to the 2026 State Meet will be her second such trip in her OCC career. In 2025, she qualified in the heptathlon and finished 11th in the state with 3,428 points.
