Isayan concludes strong weekend for Glendale Community College track

It was quite a weekend for Glendale Community College sophomore Vahagn Isayan.

A day after Isayan became his school’s first male track and field champion in 13 years, the distance runner capped off his year by placing second in the 5,000-meter race at the California Community College Athletic Assn. Track and Field Championships on Saturday at San Diego Mesa College.

Isayan was one of seven Glendale competitors to take part in Saturday’s activities and was runner-up in his event in a mark of 15 minutes, 01.64 seconds. San Bernardino’s Michael Teran won in 14:57.05.

“I wasn’t really expecting to do that well, but the race turned out in my favor,” Isayan said via a phone interview. “My thoughts were just to stay in the race and not to push hard. I honestly didn’t expect this.”

Isayan was his team’s only competitor Friday evening when he made history by capturing the 10K in 31:19.65.

“My coach said I was the first-ever Glendale guy to win the 10K and that means a lot to me,” said Isayan, who earned All-American honors in both events. “I still don’t have words for that.”

As a team, the Glendale men finished seventh with 32 points, while Mt. San Antonio College won the title with 148 points. The Glendale women did not score, while Cerritos won the crown with 92 points.

The Vaqueros had two additional individual All-Americans in Burroughs High product Shane Thompson and sophomore Jeremy Kimmer.

Thompson finished fifth in the 5K in a time of 15:04.18, while Kimmer took fifth in the pole vault in a mark of 15 feet, 6 1/2 inches (4.74 meters).

Kimmer also competed in the high jump and took seventh in 6-7 1/2 (2.02 meters).

Glendale’s 4x400-meter relay team of Manuel Delatorre, Keyon Hardin, Lonnie McNamee and Anthony McGinnis took sixth in 3:16.70.

Crescenta Valley product Matt Manalo finished eighth in the 1,500 in 4:02.01, while freshman Giselle Masedo, Glendale’s lone female representative, took ninth in the 1,500 in 4:49.87.