Guerriero Triple-Jump Win Highlights Solid Overall Team Effort
by Cerwin D Haynes
(thumbnail by Romina Autique)
East Los Angeles College men's track and field team delivered a solid showing at the Orange Coast Classic 2026, finishing fourth in the team standings with 85 points.
Justin Guerriero headlined the Pack's day down at Costa Mesa, capturing the men's triple jump title with a mark of 13.56 meters and added a second-place finish in the long jump (6.56m).
The Huskies turned in good results in the sprints. In the 100 meters, William Liu and Cristian Dineros finished second and third, posting times of 10.77 and 10.78, respectively. Both athletes followed with additional scoring performances in the 200 meters, where Liu placed fourth (22.24) and Dineros finished seventh (22.46).
ELAC also excelled in the relays, highlighted by a second-place finish in the men's 4x100 relay in 42.59. The Huskies added another podium performance in the 4x400 relay, finishing third with a time of 3:37.61. The team also placed several runners inside the top 15 of the 1500 meters, including Caden Minohara (7th, 4:27.64), Rey De Gante (8th, 4:28.08) and Jonathan Alfaro (9th, 4:28.34).
De Gante later delivered one of the Huskies' top distance performances with a third-place finish in the 5000 meters (17:21.83), while teammate Angel M Santiago finished fifth (17:41.96).
Head Coach Milton Browne showed measured praise for the team's performance. "We're trying to get better every meet," said Browne. "This is really our true, second meet - we had some competitions earlier on but they were more like prep meets".
Host Orange Coast College Pirates won the men's team title.
- As evidence to Coach Browne's comments about it still being early in the team's competitive season, many Huskies were close to winning either their sections or their races outright, only to get passed in the final 30-40 meters. "Sometimes it's a mental thing," noted Browne. "The finish could be based on what they did on the other side of the track...we can say, 'OK you pushed too hard in the back so you gave up the finish'". These are things his staff can work on and correct for future events.
- In the throws, Aaron Ponce scored across multiple events, placing fifth in the javelin (42.61m), eighth in the shot put (11.50m) and ninth in the discus (33.15m). But the biggest thrill of the afternoon came when the sophomore ran in the 100m Dash. "He wanted to do it," chuckled Browne. "He had fun too."
- Teammate Maurion Jones placed eighth in the long jump (6.12m) and fifth in the triple jump (12.39m).
- In the middle-distance events, Jacob Townsend led the Huskies with a 10th-place finish in the 800 meters (2:06.50).
UP NEXT:
The Pack will make their annual trip down to San Diego next Friday for the Arnie Robinson Invitation at San Deigo Mesa College.
