Glendale Community College track hits the starting line

While the gap between the men’s and women’s track and field programs at Glendale Community College appears to be widening, Vaqueros Coach Eddie Lopez sees something else as the 2015 season nears its start.

“It’s cyclical and rotates,” Lopez said. “One year the men’s team is up and one year the women’s team is up. It’s just been that the last couple of years the women have done better.

“My expectations this year, though, are that both do better than last year. We should be competitive in conference, at [the Southern California Championships] and at state, whether that’s the guys or the women.”

The women are coming off a season in which they won a Western State Conference title, took fourth at the Southern California Championships and sixth in state.

“I expect conference to be tough again, just like last year for the ladies,” Lopez said. “We got a battle from West Los Angeles and College of the Canyons and I think Bakersfield will be even better this year. If we’re not doing our best, they can beat us.”

Last season, the Vaqueros tallied 168 points in holding off West Los Angeles (153.75) and Canyons (92.75) at the conference finals at Antelope Valley College.

Glendale, which began its season Friday at the Battle of the Regions at Bakersfield College, returns a few standouts from that championship squad, including thrower Aisiah Tuiasosopo, hurdler Jocelyn Castaneda and distance runners Glindyll Mancia and Narges Motamedi.

Tuiasosopo is the conference discus champion (39.28 meters) who took third in Southern California (41.11) and fourth in state (41.44). Tuiasosopo also finished third in the hammer throw (37.73) at conference and sixth in the shot put (10.75).

As for Mancia, the sophomore was third in conference in both the 800-meter run (2 minutes, 23.65 seconds) and 1,500 (4:59.68), while Narges finished ninth in conference in the 800. Castaneda, a team captain this season with Tuiasosopo, is an experienced 400-meter hurdler who took seventh in conference in 1:19.63.

Joining that quartet is a group of newcomers headlined by freshman Jassmine Macon, who finished fifth at the CCCAA state cross-country championships. Macon has the ability to run any sort of distance race from the 800 to the 10,000.

Macon will be joined by fellow cross-country runners Brenda Sanchez, Crystal Morales and Stacy Macias in the distances along with volleyball player and first-time runner Nancy Nunez-Brooks, who will take part in the hurdles.

“We have some good depth, especially in the distances,” Lopez said. “We’ll see how this team develops.”

As for the men, they’re coming off a 2014 season in which they placed third in conference behind College of the Canyons and West Los Angeles, took 14th at the Southern California Championships and 23rd at state.

Sophomore Marcus Streeter is the top returner, as the leaper turned in an amazing third-place effort at state in the high jump with a mark of 2.07 meters. That effort followed a bronze (1.87 meters) in conference and a sixth-place effort in Southern California (1.96).

Streeter is expected to run in both relays for Glendale, while the Vaqueros add some more depth to the their jumps in the form of freshman Andrew Castaneda. The Sherman Oaks Notre Dame standout is both a long and triple jumper.

Maybe the most interesting athlete is new arrival Jeremy Kimmer from Canyon High. The decathlete has hit 6 feet, 9 inches in the high jump and 16 feet in the pole vault.

In the distances, Crescenta Valley High alumnus Matt Manalo is expected to be a prime contributor along with sophomore returner Marc Marcano.

Glendale also has a top-notch sprinter returning in Jourdan Honore, who took last season off. Throwing specialist Joey Thompson, who can compete in the shot put, hammer and javelin, is expected to rack up the points for the Vaqueros.

“We have the guys to be able to make a run in conference,” Lopez said. “It’s just a matter of getting our best effort and preparing the right way. If we do what we’re supposed to, we’ll have a good year.”