Track & Field 1960
Ran in first Russell Cup to allow girls

Santa Barbara City College 1961
Member of Vaqueros’ first track team

AAU Competition
Southern Pacific Champion 75y 1960
Western Regional Champion 75y & 100y 1960
Southern Pacific Champion 220y 1961
National AAU Qualifier
SPAAU Record 75y dash

Female Sports Pioneer

During her time at Carpinteria High School, and pre-Title IX, girls varsity sports did not exist. Sarah-Jane “Sari” Small and other female athletes who wanted to participate in competitive sports, were only able to compete in extramural activities through the Girls Athletic Association (GAA). 

Through the GAA, Sari participated in basketball, softball and volleyball, and also competed in track & field through the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). She earned an GAA “C” enamel pendant (what would be considered the equivalent of a Varsity letter) and was awarded the GAA Perpetual Trophy for Athleticism.

Sari ran the 50-, 75- and 100-yard dashes, and competed in the long jump and high jump through the AAA. Her senior year, she ran anchor on the first girls relay team able to participate in the Russell Cup. The Carpinteria Lions Club sponsored Sari to compete in the Women’s National Championships in Corpus Christi, TX; Gary, IN; Los Angeles and Gilroy, CA during her four years at CHS. She set a record in the 75-yard dash, with a time of 9 seconds.

After graduating from CHS, Sari continued to excel in Track & Field. She won the AAU California State Championship in the women’s 400 meters and broke the California state record in the 75 meter dash at the Regional IX Division Championship in LA. She also played basketball for San Fernando Valley State College, which is now Cal State Northridge.

Sari spent her post-high school summers working for the Carpinteria summer recreation program and introduced girls to tennis, track and the trampoline. She was also involved in starting a women’s athletic program at Santa Barbara City College. She later became an avid cyclist, participating in many double century rides, and became a member of the first women’s tandem bicycling team to finish the arduous Tour of Two Forests, a 200 mile ride up mountains and through the desert.

Sari earned her Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education, with a minor in Biology, from SFVSC and completed a secondary teaching credential. She served as an Academic Administrative Analyst in the Tseng College of Extended Learning  at Cal State Northridge for 45 years, and has since retired to Washington state.