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Valenzuela Highlights Huskies' Mt. SAC Relays' Tuneup Before Conference Prelims
Posted: Apr 12, 2025

Valenzuela Highlights Huskies' Mt. SAC Relays' Tuneup Before Conference Prelims

Results

by Cerwin D Haynes

(thumbnail courtesy of ELAC Track & Field)

 

East LA College Track and Field head coach Milton Browne aimed to approach his team's participation in today's Mt. SAC Relays a bit conservatively. Naturally, he wanted his athletes to be tested, and at the same time still execute a plan of "ramping up" to the upcoming South Coast Conference and SoCal Regional meets in the coming weeks.

To wit: Huskies' top State favorite, sophomore Fernando Valenzuela, did not run in the Men's 400m, where he was #1 in the State coming into April. But he did run in the Men's 800m, where he got clipped at the last second by Southern Nevada's Gerardo Osorio who took first (1:54.01). Valenzuela finished second by a hair (1:54.08). Also, freshman William Liu - who came into April at #4 in the Men's 100m Dash - did not partake in today's 100m. He did run in the Men's 200m Dash alongside Valenzuela: Fernando finished seventh (21.96) and Liu placed eighth (21.96). Both came into April ranked in the State Top-10 in the 200m. ELAC also notched fourth in the Men's 4x400 Relay, an event they also ranked in the State Top-10 in.

After the final event, Coach Browne gave his thoughts on the overall performance of both his men and women's participants. "We've got some work to do," said Browne with a bit of a grin. "There's certain things I'm looking for that wasn't there."

On Valenzuela finishing second in the 800m, coach was pleased but felt there's still room for improvement. "He's top-5, ran a PR (personal record), season best," he observed. "It was just strategy why he lost the race. Those last few yards, he didn't hear the guy (Osorio) until it was too late."

 

HUSKY BITS

  • Valenzuela came into the 800m with a previous best time of 1:55.95. So his 1:54.08 indeed was a PR.
  • One of the "things" Coach Browne may have been looking for was his athletes to best their previous marks for certain events. It was a mixed bag on that front.

 

UP NEXT:

The Pack will head down to Long Beach on Tuesday, April 22 for the South Coast Conference Prelims. The SCC championships will be Saturday, April 26.