Men’s track & field gets nine personal records
TORRANCE, CA — The East Los Angeles College men’s track & field team finished with nine personal records in the final regular season finale, the South Coast College Prelims on Tuesday and Championships today at El Camino College.
The Huskies survived the confusion of Mt. San Antonio College hosting the two-day event and advances sophomore Dale Wilson (Bronx, NY / Harry S Truman High School) to the SoCal Championship Trials at Cerritos College on Saturday, May 6.
Wilson will compete in two events, the 200-meter and 400-meter dashes. He took third place in both events at the SCC finals today.
In the 10,000-meter run, the Huskies had three men place in the SCC finals. ELAC also had three men place in the 5,000-meter finals.
Freshman Nathan Rangel placed 12th in the 10,000 with a personal record. He placed 10th in the 5,000 finishing his first season as the top Husky long distance runner.
Sophomore Rene Flores (Garfield HS) and freshman Pablo Hernandez (Downtown Magnets HS) were each SCC finalists in the 10,000 and 5,000.
Flores ended his two-year Husky T&F career with personal records in each of these events. Hernandez ran a personal best in the 10,000.
Freshman Jonathan Quintero (South East HS) placed 10th in the 1,500 finals today. In the Prelims, he would not be denied a spot.
Coming around the final turn in 9th place, Quintero knew a mad sprint could get him into the finals. He kicked up his on that final turn, passed runners and placed sixth in his heat, but more importantly earned a spot in the finals.
As a result of his time in the 1,500 finals, Quintero is an alternate in the event for the SoCal Championship Trials. Alternates find out early next week if they moved up as qualifiers to the Trials.
Matthew Ruiz (Bell Gardens HS) ran a personal record in the 1,500. Sophomore Daniel Lopez also competed in the event.
In the 800-meter run, Lopez ended his Husky career with a personal record. He started his sprint with 200 meters left in the race and passed runners from Long Beach City College and Mt. SAC to take 8th place in his heat.
Quintero was the top Husky placer in the 800 and finished fourth in his heat. Ruiz also competed in this almost four-lap race and just missed a personal record.
A mix up with the ELAC coaches kept freshman Raymond Rascon (Pioneer HS) from running in the two events he trained for during the season until just minutes before each event, the 800 and the 1,500. “As a result, I didn’t have time to warm up.”
Sophomore Akeim Brown (Mount Vernon, NY / Mount Vernon HS) placed ninth in the 400 and finished one spot from making the finals. He ran injured yet still ran a personal best in the 200. Brown is a SoCal Trials alternate in the 400 according to ELAC Head Coach Milton Browne.
Freshman Emmanuel Cuenca (Schurr HS) ended his first year on the team in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes in the Prelims. Wilson, who has a Top-10 SoCal time in the 100, did not compete to focus on the 200 and 400 events.
Wilson won his 200 heat in the Prelims with a personal record. He finished the Prelims with the fastest time in the 400.
Wilson is seeded to advance out of SoCal Trials to the SoCal finals in both the 200 and 400. He has the fourth fastest time in Southern California in the 400.
The SoCal Championships are divided into two days, the Championship Trials will be held on May 6 at Cerritos College. Wilson will compete at 2:35 p.m. in the 400 and 5 p.m. in the 200. The Championship finals will be held on May 13 at Cerritos College, time to be determined.
submitted by Tadzio Garcia