The institution of Cerritos College Women’s Track and Field is one that extends back decades.
Since the start of the program the team has succeeded in winning seven CCCAA State Championship titles.
With a new generation of Falcons coming out into the competition, the coaching staff for the program has nothing but high hopes for the season which will begin with the South Coast Conference opener on Saturday, Feb. 4.
Director of Track and Field Christopher Richardson said, “It’s going to be interesting how step up. We have some pretty high-caliber meets [this season.]”
He mentioned being invited to UCLA twice for invitationals which will see all the PAC-12 schools and more.
“It’s gonna be some heated competition toward the latter stage [of the season.] That’s where [the women] get the exposure, that’s the fun part,” Richardson said.
Now, with the team coming off their second state championship in two years and the quest for a third is underway.
“The hardest thing is to repeat,” Richardson said, “One hundred percent of our sophomores last year transferred […] that is a great thing but at the same time really hurt [the team] in some key event areas, like [the team’s] distance and throws areas.”
For the first time in two years the Falcons will be without Destiny Mack-Talalemotu, a prominent thrower who was crucial in the team’s winning of the last two state championships.
Women’s Head Coach Michael Allen said, “[The team] has four freshman, and we have Crystal Rodriguez who went to state last year.”
The coaches believe that they have high caliber athletes to fill her shoes. They described Talalemotu has an all-around athlete who excelled in all areas of throwing, but the new throwers will add depth to the program.
A key part to the beginning of the season is the ability to carry over the momentum of the fall cross country season.
Cross Country and Distance Coach Brian Ramos said, “That was the one thing [the coaches] stressed to [the runners] that as a cross country team we really want to set the whole tone for the program.”
Having competed in the school year, already, they are able to help the rest of the team gain the competitive edge they need to kick off the season.
Richardson commented that he already anticipates records being broken during the upcoming season.
He said, “I can see both hurdle records being broken, the javelin record, long jump and high jump [record being broken].”
The team has a some time before competitions start. While the conference opener is important it is really only used as another practice.
“It’s more of just breaking the status quo of training and break the rust off,” Richardson said, “It’s gonna be a good eye opener for the second tier athletes who are about to break through to the top.”
