Sports Talk : Cal State Latina Track Star Aims Beyond Finish Line

“Slow down, relax the shoulders,” pleaded coach Greg Ryan as his prized pupil steamed around on the brown Rekotan track at Cal State Los Angeles. “If she ever learns to get through the mental and emotional obstacles,” he said to a visitor, “she’ll be tremendous.”

She, Ryan’s source of pride and frustration, is Sylvia Mosqueda, a 5-foot, 3-inch, 101-pound dynamo who is one of the nation’s best female distance runners.

On this day, she is working on pacing herself in the 1,500-meter run, with Ryan recording her time after every 400-meter lap. After about a minute’s rest, she takes off on a another four-lap run. Mosqueda covers each set in less than five minutes--and hates every one of them.

“I really dislike the quarters (400 meters),” she said later, after complaining to Ryan about a tender calf. “Thank God I only have to do them once a month.”

Although Ryan thinks this type of workout on the track is essential to her success, Mosqueda prefers to run in the open. But regardless of how and when she trains, one thing is clear: running is her niche in the world of sports and a bridge to opportunities outside of it.

From the day in 1982 when she first got hooked on track at San Gabriel High School, Mosqueda has refined her enormous talent through a brilliant career that included state junior college titles in the 800, 1,500 and 5,000 meters in 1986 while at East Los Angeles College, and an NCAA record (32:28.57) in the 10,000 meters while at Cal State L.A. two years later.

But perhaps she is best remembered for leading women runners in the 1986 Los Angeles Marathon for 19 1/2 miles. She had not registered for the race but joined the pack as the gun went off. When she took the lead, it nearly triggered apoplexy in Nancy Ditz, the pre-race favorite, and sent the organizers scrambling in search of the mystery woman’s identity.

“Every Sunday we run long, so I decided to run about 17 miles in the race and then stop,” Mosqueda recalled. “I had never ran a marathon. I didn’t think I would be in the lead, but I started feeling good and went the extra 2 1/2 miles. I quit because I couldn’t win the prize anyway and because coach would have killed me.”

Mosqueda entered officially the following year and finished second among the women. Yet, she considers marathons too demanding at this point and plans to concentrate on races no longer than 3,000 meters on the European circuit this summer.

“For me running right now is for the fun and competition,” said the 22-year-old Mexican-American, who now competes unattached. She is considering returning to college to finish her degree in physical education. “I’ll start thinking about the money later. I just want to continue improving and get ready for the next Olympics. Hopefully by ‘92, I’ll learn how to do it properly.

“I always think fast and put pressure on myself. The days I can make myself relax, I run a lot better. If I can put the relaxation, tempo and form together, I can do well.”

Ryan couldn’t agree more.