Huskies Standout at Arnie Robinson Invitational
by Stephen Morales
@grecomeco23
For nine years, San Diego Mesa College has hosted the "Arnie Robinson Invitational" a track and field competition. Named after 1972 and 1976 Olympic Gold Medalist Arnie Robinson, who was a Mesa graduate and later Track and Field Coach at Mesa, the Invitational often attracts top track and field teams from around the country at the college level.
This year, the Invitational included the East Los Angeles College Husky Mens and Womens Track and Field team as Coach Milton Browne brought his Huskies down to San Diego looking for a top challenge. Coach Browne's faith in his team was rewarded as the Huskies provided a strong showing at the Invitational as the Huskies performed well in several events and several Husky athletes posted season best individual times.
"This is one of the meets, our athletes anticipate so good performance was expected" stated Coach Browne.
The Huskies began the day in the 4X100 Meter Relay and posted the 2nd fastest time of the season of 44.54, good enough for a 4th place finish. The Huskies would again find relay success by posting a time of 3:26.40 in the 4X400 Meter Relay again good enough for a 4th place finish.
"The relay teams have steadily improved throughout the season" added Coach Browne.
In terms of individuals, it was a terrific day for the Huskies, headlined by Fernand Valenzuela who posted a time of 48.54 in the Mens 400 Meter Dash to finish in 1st place and recorded one of the top times in the state this year. Valenzuela was is undefeated in the 400 Meter Dash also recorded a top 15 finish in the Mens 200. Marabella Flores posted a time of 5:08.77 in the Women's 1500 Meter Run, good enough for 3rd place and a season best for her. Flores also finished in 6th place in the Women's 800 Meter Run. On the field event side Marcus Rivera posted season bests in the Mens Discus (120-11.25) and Mens Shot Put (40-4.25). Carlos Deluna also had a strong day with a 3rd place finish in the Mens 400 Meter Hurdle (56.49) and a 8th place finish in the Men's Triple Jump (40-0.)
"I am very excited to the athletes that have worked hard posting personal best" Coach Brown said.
Other strong notes for the Huskies included Cynthia Curiel with a top 15 finish in the Women's 200 Meter Dash, Curiel and Kimberley Preciado with top 15 finishes in the Women's 400 Meter Dash, and Adrian Arenas with a top 15 finish in the Mens 400 Meter Dash.
Coach Browne has pointed to this season as the year where the Husky Track and Field program would make major strides and based on the results of the Arnie Robinson Invitational, it looks like Coach Browne's prediction is well on the mark.
