By Ashley Voong | Staff Writer

   After many months, Gabrielino High School track and field athletes are finally returning to in-person practices, led by the new official head coach, Lorenzo Mena.

   This will be Coach Mena’s fourth year as a track and field coach at Gabrielino, but his first season as the head coach. In his past years coaching at Gabrielino, Coach Mena focused primarily on working with  jumpers.

   “Watching the four-year jumpers develop as athletes has made my coaching experience extremely fun,” stated Mena.

   While continuing to work closely with the jumpers, he has set a game plan for this season and is ready to take charge of the entire program.

   “A lot of the athletes have not been active during the COVID quarantine, so getting them back into running sprints and jumping is our primary short-term goal,” explained Mena. “Long term, we want to create a season for the kids to remember and give them the opportunity to compete against other schools.”

   Working alongside him to achieve these goals is the sprints coach, Elijah Peters. This will be Coach Peters’ second year returning as the sprints coach.

   “Because of COVID, I am not really sure what to expect this season,” confessed Peters. “But I know that we have a good group of kids that are going to work hard to reach their potential.” 

   As Gabrielino alumni, both Mena and Peters share a passion for sports and enjoy giving back to the community they grew up in. As past teammates, both coaches also know what it is like to work well together as a team, giving them an advantage when it comes to coaching and helping their athletes grow.

   “I have known Coach Mena since I was in elementary school and we played sports with each other throughout the years, so it’s awesome coaching with one of my good friends,” Peters said.

   Witnessing the hard work and dedication each Gabrielino athlete puts into practice is also what motivates the two coaches.

   Peters explained, “The kids show up every day with a good attitude and put the work in, which will all pay off during track meets.”

   Gabrielino track and field is scheduled to have its first away track meet of the season next Wednesday, March 31 at 3:15 p.m. against South El Monte High School.