TRACK : Officer Runs a Career Path

When Officer Chuck Foote joined the Los Angeles Police Department in 1970, he thought his best days on the track--those he ran at Cal State Los Angeles--were over.

That four-year stint turned out to be little more than a warm-up, for Foote has coached and competed for the Police Department’s track team for the last 24 years.

“I never really thought about being involved in track this long,” he said.

“It’s still happening for me and real exciting for me coaching.”

The 46-year-old team captain, who started running when he was 14, hasn’t lost a step either.

Foote won the age 45-49 division 3,000 meters in 9:51.47 at the National Masters USA track and field championships last weekend at the University of Missouri. He also combined with George Cohen, Bill McCullough and Rich Dyer on the department’s 3,200-meter relay team to place second in the age 40-49 division. The foursome also teamed to place fourth in the 1,600-meter relay for their division. Next on Foote’s itinerary is the April 9 Baker-to-Las Vegas race, a 20-person 120-mile relay which will pit the LAPD against more than 150 law-enforcement agencies.

From there, it’s off to the Police Summer Games in Sacramento in June where the LAPD holds meetrecords in the 800, 110 high hurdles and 400 relay.

Under Foote, the team has grown from 10 members in 1970 to more than 60. He said any law-enforcement officer is welcome to join--from recruits in the academy with track experience to beginners just wanting to get in shape.

“We’ve had all kinds of people over the years,” he said. “It’s tough to coordinate workouts and competitions because everybody has a different schedule. The only time I see everybody at once is at the meets.”

Foote also coaches 30 athletes on the San Gabriel Valley Track Club and has been an assistant women’s track and cross-country coach at Cal Poly Pomona for the past five years.

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For the second consecutive year, Jason Barreda anchored the winning Loyola High distance medley relay team with a 4:18.5 1,600-meter leg at the Pasadena Games at Occidental College. The Cubs timed 10:24.41 to easily outdistance runner-up Thousand Oaks with 10:42.84 on March 26.

Jim McElroy of Washington High won the invitational 200 in 21.76 and the Dorsey High 1,600 relay team of Leo Settle, Anthony Wheeler, Anthony Mabry and Devon Dubriel combined to win the open race by nearly seven seconds in a season-best 3:20.76.

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The Cal State Los Angeles men and women finished as the top NCAA Division II team in a five-way meet at UC Irvine.

Robert Clark won the hammer with a throw of 194 feet 9 inches and the discus with a mark of 155-8 for the Golden men, who totaled 54 points to finish behind Weber State’s 111. Cal Poly Pomona was third with 52, followed by Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine with 49 and 34.

In the women’s competition, Janet Hill won the shotput (48-7 1/4) and discus (168-4) for Cal State L.A., which placed second with 55 points. Weber State won with 102. UC Irvine scored 50, Cal Poly Pomona, 33, and Cal State Fullerton, 15.

Genet Gorgis out-leaned Rosetta Hunter of Cal Poly Pomona, the 1988 and ’89 City champion in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters for Locke High, by .39 seconds to win the 800 in 2:11.20.