Make no mistake about it, Scotts Valley High graduate Ava Decleve will go down as one of the most decorated runners this area has ever seen.
The Falcon star athlete placed second in the girls 800-meter race at the California Interscholastic Federation State Track and Field Championships in front of hundreds of fans at Buchanan High School in Clovis on May 30.
Decleve finished the race in a record-setting time of 2 minutes, 7.37 seconds, breaking the previous Santa Cruz County record of 2:08.82 that was set by former San Lorenzo Valley High standout Anna Maxwell in 2014.
“It honestly meant the world because it really just showed all the hard work that I put in this season, also in past seasons, paid off,” said Decleve about setting the new record. “My coaches trained me perfectly for the perfect time to peak, which was at State. Everything was put together and we planned it out. I was really happy with that.”
Decleve was in sixth place coming around the 400-meter mark with one lap to go.
With 200 meters remaining in the race, a window opened up for Decleve and she was able to take the inside rail to pass up Sonoma Academy junior Josie Hill (2:07.68) and Claremont sophomore Grace Smith (2:08.26).
“I just locked eyes on the second place runner, and I was like, ‘You know what, I’m gonna give it my all,’” Decleve said. “This is the last race, I’m at state. I was really lucky to pass [Hill], and then get second.”
Getting to compete at the CIF State Championships was a dream come true for Decleve, who managed to fight off the nerves as she walked on to the track.
“I was nervous and I had butterflies, but I was pretty calm and I’m used to being nervous. So, I accepted it and I used that sort of as more excitement to get out fast and run even faster.”
Decleve, who played soccer in elementary and middle school, recently received the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League’s Female Athlete of the Year award by the athletic directors within the league.
The University of California–Los Angeles commit can now add another award to her list of accomplishments after she was named the Press Banner’s Female Athlete of the Year for the 2025-26 academic year.
“I think all four years have worked up to this point,” Decleve said. “Each [award] is special to me. Each one I know I worked for it in a different way, but I think through all the hard times the past couple years and then leading to this, it just keeps getting better.”
Decleve added, “[The awards] conclude my high school running career, and it’s sad to know it is at an end, but it makes me so excited for the adventure that college has.”
Decleve graduated from Scotts Valley High with a weighted 4.44 GPA. She was involved in several extracurricular activities, such as the marine conservation cleanup club, as well.
Scotts Valley Athletic Director Louie Walters said the girls track team has been blessed with some amazing runners over the years, such as Vanessa Fraiser, who ran at Stanford and is running professionally.
“Jessica Kain, who ran at San Diego State, and like Vanessa, is running professionally,” Walters said. “Ava is right up there with the great runners that have come out of Scotts Valley High.”
Decleve had a plethora of supporters along the way, including head coach Todd Hoffman and her former teammates, the Boothby sisters—Amber and Ashlyn.
“The [Boothbys] took me under their wing, they were great role models,” Decleve said. “Amber was starting to run at UC San Diego, and then seeing Ashlyn commit to Stanford, it just really opened my eyes to put in the hard work and dedication that both of those girls had.”
Decleve defended her 800-meter title in the finals at the Central Coast Section Track and Field Championships at Gilroy High School on May 23. She won the race in what was at the time a season-best of 2:10.43.
The Falcon star runner had qualified in three events—200-, 400- and 800-meters—during the semifinals but she opted to sit out the 400 so she could focus on the other two events.
Decleve placed seventh in the 200 in 25.88 in the finals, yet she still managed to set a personal best mark of 25.20 in the semis May 16.
Scotts Valley assistant coach Bradley Hartman has worked with Decleve since she arrived to the team her freshman year.
During that time, Hartman said he implemented two rules: have fun and focus.
“If you’re focusing on one, it’s going to get hard or you’re going to lose interest, or you’re not going to see the results,” Hartman said. “Ava wants to do the work, she loves the process…I think she’s just genuinely curious and wants to see her ceiling, too.”
Decleve won at the prestigious CCS Top 8 Invitational in 2:11.26 at Los Gatos High on April 8. Then she followed up with her first 800 championship in 2:18.85 at the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League Championships on May 2.
At the SCCAL finals, she won the 400 race in 57.30 and the 200-meter dash in 25.24 seconds. She was also part of the Falcon 4×800 relay team with senior Dylan Turzak and juniors Hailey and Hanna Shehorn that placed second in 10:03.63 to earn a spot at the CCS semifinals.
In cross country, Decleve placed second in D-IV girls race in 17:46.7 during the CCS Championships at Crystal Springs in Belmont to help the Falcon girls team capture their fifth consecutive team title.
She had a record-setting first-place finish at the prestigious Crystal Springs Invitational, capturing the championship race in 17:58.1 seconds on the 2.95-mile course on Oct. 11.
Prior to that, Decleve took second in 13:44 at the Artichoke Invitational at Half Moon Bay High on Oct. 4. She also had the fastest overall finish at the Ram Invitational at Westmoor High School on Sept. 27, winning the 2.7-mile race in 16:19 for the best mark in a field of 153 runners.
Decelve capped off her final season in cross country with a fourth-place finish in 17:34.9 at the CIF State Cross Country Championships in Fresno on Nov. 29.
“It’s in her DNA, this sport,” Hartman said. “Her drive and commitment to it, it’s been incredible to watch. We’ve had some highs and lows, we had some really hard races that challenged her.”
Although she is no longer officially racing for Scotts Valley High, Decleve still has one final meet at the 2026 Nike Outdoor Nationals at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon starting on June 18.
She’ll have one more chance to run with 11 of her former teammates and an opportunity to compete in the USA Track and Field U-20 Championships, which will run at the same time and place as the Nike Outdoor Nationals.
“I think if you want to accomplish something, you have to have the love for the sport,” Decleve said. “I think the love I have for running drives me to want to accomplish things. I want to see how much I can make a lasting impact and how much I can accomplish, and see my dreams come true.”
