Huskies to Compete at State Track Meet

Distance Runner Laura Aceves Eyes Another Championship Medal

MONTEREY PARK – Besides cross country, East Los Angeles College student-athlete Laura Aceves will attempt to add state championship medals to her already impressive resume when she competes at the California Community College Track and Field Championships Friday and Saturday, May 16-17, at Mt. San Antonio College.

Aceves, who won the state cross country championship last fall, is projected to be a top finisher in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and the 10,000 meters. She won both races at last weekend's Southern California championships and placed second in the 5,000.

The freshman will compete in the steeplechase and the 10,000 at state. The steeplechase is scheduled for Friday, with the 10,000 set for 3 p.m. Saturday.

At the SoCal meet, Aceves easily won the 3,000 steeplechase in a time of 11 minutes 16.58 seconds. She finished well ahead of El Camino's Haley Heinemann (11:22.54), who was second. In the grueling 10,000, Aceves breezed to a first place finish in 39:30.01. Orange Coast's Guadalupe Cantaron was next in 39:43.

            Aceves ran an excellent time of 18:03.70 in the 5,000 meters, but was edged at the finish by Glendale's Elizabeth Nelson, who won the race with a time of 18:03.26

Like Aceves in the women's competition, ELAC's Gonzalo Ceja is also a projected top finisher in the men's 3,000 steeplechase after an impressive performance at the Southern California championships. The sophomore won it in 9:20.99.

Ceja is also a qualifier in the 10,000, but will compete in only the steeplechase.

The Huskies' Daniel Rincon-Zaragoza will compete in the men's 10,000 at state. Ceja and Rincon-Zaragoza also competed in the 5,000 at the SoCal meet.

ELAC freshman Jorge Romo competed in the long jump and the decathlon at the regional meet. Kristoffer Chacon competed in the 10,000.

East Los Angeles College student-athletes, from left, Gonzalo Ceja, Laura Aceves and Daniel Rincon-Zaragoza will compete at the California Community College Track and Field Championships Friday and Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College.

Photo by Mario Villegas