The strong showing at the state championships concludes a season with many accomplishments, most notably the WSC title, and individual accomplishments by Corey Lenaris who was the first athlete since 1963 to win the 100m and the 200m in the WSC this season.

Lenaris has come a long way, considering last season he could not stay healthy enough to make as big an impact as he would have liked. However, he finished the season strong and carried momentum into this season.

“Corey worked with an athletic trainer every single day lifting weights and taking preventive medicine to stay healthy,” McMurray said. “You always have to trust the athlete to know his own condition.”
The extra work in the off-season paid off as Lenaris’ best time in the 100m was 10:68 and 21:58 in the 200m.

In the Southern California finals, Lenaris ran a 10:58 in the 100m, good enough for third best and good enough to advance to the state finals which took place in Sacramento. Lenaris had a 7th place finish, not his best showing.

“I know I was good enough to place top four in the state finals but it just didn’t happen,” Lenaris said.

Omar Limon wants his last year as a track and field athlete at GCC to be a memorable one. He ranked third in the state in steeplechase running. It has not been an easy road to the top, however, as he has had to sacrifice other activities so he could have the time to practice every day.

Limon had to take a year off because he of his commitment to being Senator and Vice President of Campus Activities at Glendale college. Holding off on the sport for that long period of time made him realize how much he loves running.

Today, a week in the life of Limon goes something like this: On Sundays, he runs for 10 miles and sometimes as many as 14 miles. On Mondays, he runs six miles in the morning and then working out at noon. On Tuesdays, it is another day of a 10-mile run. On Wednesdays, it is back to six miles in the morning and working out at noon. On Thursdays, you guessed it, a 10-mile run.

On Fridays and Saturdays, which for most people are days to rest and have fun with their friends, Limon uses as days to prepare for the upcoming week of running.

“It’s a tough sport that takes a lot of dedication,” Limon said. “Running seven days a week every week for six months a year is not easy.”

All this hard work has paid off for Limon. In the Southern California finals, he ran a 9:44 in the Steeplechase. At the state finals, he did not fare as well as he hoped. Limon finished seventh.

“It meant a lot going to the state championships, because I kept the tradition [of sending steeplechase runners to state championships] at GCC alive,” Limon said.

“He’s our most outstanding long-distance runner,” head coach Eddie Lopez said. “But he is also a great role model, and he is always a pleasure to work with.”

With Lenaris and Limon at the state finals, McMurray and Lopez were certain that their track and field squad was represented honorably, despite the dissapointing finishes.