Future looks bright for John Glenn track & field
John Glenn varsity discus thrower Gabriel Pasillas throws 108' 8" for fourth place as he competes in the 605 League meet at Pioneer High School on Saturday. (Photo by Keith Durflinger)
WHITTIER — It was a glorious sunny day with something that hasn’t been seen in over a year at Pioneer High School on Saturday: student-athletes from six schools competing in the 605 League Track & Field finals.
From every athlete, coach and parent they were all just happy to be competing again in the finals.
Each team did compete in some dual meets, but were scaled down because of the pandemic.
What stood out was a tremendous effort by John Glenn High School from perhaps one of the smallest contingents out there among schools like Cerritos with over 100 athletes.
They may not have won a league title, which wasn’t awarded anyway, but self-improvement and accomplishment was the goal for the day.
The big news of the day was John Glenn’s Gabriel Pasillas — the junior thrower was elated as he tossed the dish for 108’ 8” to finish in fourth place.
“I’m excited and to also see what others have in the division,” Pasillas said. “My goal for next year in my senior year is to win the whole thing.”
John Glenn track and field coach Andy de La Torre, right center, talks with sprinters, from left, Liam Antonio, Benjamin Sanchez and Jose Sanchez during the 605 League meet at Pioneer High School on Saturday. (Photo by Keith Durflinger)
One proud dad was Hector Ramirez, Sr., who has a daughter, Mia Ramirez, and son Hector Ramirez, competing in the running events. Their main sport is wrestling but they came out to help with their cardio and compete with the team. Mia is a sophomore on the wrestling team.
“I wanted my kids to do sports and always kept them busy growing up,” said Hector Ramirez, Sr., who is also the coach of the wrestling team at John Glenn.
John Glenn track and field coach Andy De La Torre knew he was outmanned but was glad just to be out on the track this year.
“This is exciting, to be honest,” he said. “That’s the best part, just having the crowd here and having the kids cheering each other on. They start to recognize other athletes from other schools.”
De La Torre was complimentary of his young distance runner, Javier Reynoso.
“He’s my top distance guy right now,” said De La Torre of his 1,600 win. “I have a lot of young talent.”
One very interested party viewing all of the action was John Glenn football coach David Cruz.
He was keeping a keen eye out for any potential players. Cruz also commented on senior wrestler and runner Hector Ramirez.
John Glenn's Diego Lopez, left, and Javier Reynoso, center, compete in the Frosh/Soph boys 1600 in the 605 League meet at Pioneer High School on Saturday. (Photo by Keith Durflinger)
“I feel sorry for Hector,” said Cruz of the CIF decision of no individual competition in wrestling. “In wrestling he wasn’t able to compete in the individuals. This is the year that I thought he was going to be CIF champ and state placer and get his name up on the banner.”
Cruz also commented on sophomore discus thrower, Mikel Udengwu, who also plays football.
“He comes from a good family,” Cruz said. “He has a good upbringing and his parents instilled hard work on them.”
His brother Edwin Udengwu, a 2020 grad, played for Cruz as a running back and ran for 2,000 yards in his junior year.
What they said:
Linda Parra, John Glenn Athletic Director: "We are very proud of Gabriel and all of our John Glenn Track & Field athletes.
"This year at John Glenn we have seen our athletic programs decrease in numbers, but having small numbers never discouraged our athletes from working hard to compete. Our track and field program is a perfect example. Despite having one of the smallest teams in our league, our athletes showed up to work hard each day. They committed themselves to training and it paid off as the season progressed. Coach Andy De La Torre, Coach Suzy Carillo and Coach Ray Niemann have done a great job coaching this year. Despite having such a small team, they remained positive and encouraged their athletes throughout the entire season.
"Watching the athletes compete in the 605 League Finals (Saturday May 22) was such a great experience. We witnessed athletes from all the schools encourage one another and congratulate each other at the conclusion of the events. After such a turmoil year that the students have gone through, it was such a positive experience to watch the athletes demonstrate good sportsmanship and character with one another."
Andy Carillo, Track and Field head coach: “I’d say we are a pretty close-nit team, always together and trying really hard. For the most part, we told them coming out this entire season all they had to do was beat themselves from last year. Each time get a good PR (personal record) and try to beat that. It’s not about beating the person next to you; it’s beating your own record.
“It’s always about self-improvement on this team. ‘How can I get better?’ Making sure they understand that they can do things that they never thought possible.
“All of these kids coming together, they all go through the same stuff all year. They all realize it how hard it is to run. When they see someone competing, they realize they have been there and understand. They’re going to cheer each other on. That’s the best part about being back.”
Ray Niemann, Asst. Track and Field coach: “Our goal was to get (Gabriel Pasillas) to CIF. We knew that we had to get him to that certain mark and so we practiced and practiced, trying to get to that consistency. That’s what we worked on all week. He did it and, boom. He was really excited.
“In the shot put and discus, other teams brought sandwiches and treats and another school brought candies for everybody. They were all cheering and rooting for each other.”
Hector Ramirez, Sr., John Glenn wrestling coach: “It was Hector junior’s senior year and I knew John Glenn was hurting for some athletes and I said, ‘You know guys (Hector, junior and Mia), you should go out there and it’s the last season you’ll be in a sport together, because Hector graduates and go enjoy it.
“I said to try something new and you won’t know until you have actually done it. Now Mia is realizing that it can be beneficial to her as an athlete.
“I wanted my kids to do sports and always kept them busy growing up.”
Benjamin Sanchez, Sophomore (100, 200): “It was really nice to get the chance to make up for last years’ loss times. It’s not really about winning, it’s about the challenge of getting to that point
“I wasn’t always the fastest, it was the idea of becoming the fastest or the idea of becoming better than I was at the moment.
“The track team is like another family to me. I’ve got to bond with them and to get to know them better if I didn’t join track. In high school you need to get to know other people and sports is a way to do it.
“The accomplishment is rewarding, because of all of those days when I wanted to fall and give up and just not keep going. To see that it’s actually paid off to keep going, even if my body wanted to collapse, it’s good to see that the training was put to something that was worth it.”
Mia Ramirez, sophomore (100, 200): “I’ve never run track before and it’s a new experience for me. It’s different and you can see the girls right beside you and you have to pump all the way.
“I wrestling you have to warm up by running, so I’m used to running anyway. It’s kind of different. In wrestling you have longer periods and you have more time to breathe. When you run it’s just like a sprint.
“I told the coach, whatever you need me to do, I’ll do it.”
Emmanuel Chavarria, senior (4 x 100 Relay, 100, 200): “I’ve been in track for three years now. It’s fun. I enjoy it. The 4 x 100 is very competitive because it’s not on you it’s on the whole team. Being the first leg you want to get a head start.
“When Covid hit last year, it was heart-breaking. I didn’t understand it. It’s great this year and I’m meeting a lot of other seniors and making new friends. It’s pretty cool and I enjoy track the most.”
Hector Ramirez, Jr. (400), senior: “This is my first full year in track. I’m in the 400 and the 200. I showed up last year and the coaches saw me. This is my first full year. But I’ve been wrestling since I was seven. I’ve been having a lot of fun with it.”
Logan Torres, sophomore (discus): “I’m happy to be out here and to beat my personal record. I do want to get better and just trying to figure out how to put everything together so I can get the height. I’m still working on that.”
Mikel Udengwu, sophomore (discus): “It just makes us the underdogs (only 13 athletes). It just makes you want to try more. It gives you more power to succeed. Going into discus gave me a good environment. (Covid) just makes you be ready for hard times when I grow up. It makes you resilient and I like it.”