The article below originally appeared in the San Mateo Daily Journal and is being reprinted with permission.
Andrew Scheiner / Daily Journal Brandon Becerra runs past the competition, in a time of 3:58.43, on his way to victory in the Mens 1500 on Saturday at the Coast Championships at CSM
With about a lap and a half to go in the men’s 1500-meter run in the Coast Conference Track and Field Championships on Saturday at the College of San Mateo, CSM’s Brandon Becerra was way back in the 15-man pack.
The Hillsdale High graduate had the other runners right where he wanted them. Becerra unleashed a devastating kick, passing six of his competitors over a span of 250 meters. He built a three-second lead before hanging on for the victory in a personal-best 3 minutes, 58.43 seconds, capping a result that no one saw coming at the beginning of the season — not even CSM track coach Joe Mangan.
“I can’t say I get surprised very often, but this was a pleasant surprise,” Mangan said. “This is a kid who was a journeyman type (runner) at the PAL level, and three years later he’s developed into a solid competitor at the JC level. Each year you find a guy at this level off the radar who puts it all together and winds up with a great performance.”
It’s not as if Becerra winning was a shock. Far from it. He entered the 1500 as one of the pre-race favorites, carrying the fifth-best time in Northern California. Mangan was simply pointing out the fact of how far Becerra has come. This was an athlete who didn’t even compete in this race last year, because he always did longer events, having cut his teeth so to speak with cross-country and longer distances growing up.
But something clicked in the offseason, when Becerra trained like he had never trained before to prepare himself for this breakthrough. Maybe it was the passing of Becerra’s former track coach at Hillsdale, Randy Hurst, who died of cancer last December, that inspired Becerra to newfound heights. When Becerra crossed the finish line, he raised both arms in the air, with both index fingers pointing skyward.
“I thought of my coach at Hillsdale, and I’m dedicating this win to Randy Hurst,” he said. “This is my way of saying thank you (for all the great things he taught me). (The last year) I got in the best shape I could. I got a lot faster — I just don’t know how.”
Indeed, at this point last year Becerra was running in the low 4:20s. Amazingly, he’s shaved 22 seconds off his best mark from last season. Becerra is the classic case of an athlete who found his calling after high school, putting everything together to produce spectacular results. When Becerra unleashed his kick, he knew victory was his.
“It’s my secret weapon,” Becerra said. “I’ve always been able to sustain a long kick.”
Said Mangan: “I think Randy’s death stoked Brandon’s fire a little bit. This is a guy who met every challenge I gave him and he’s a testament of what leads to success — being diligent and consistently putting in the time.”
And to think: Becerra took a while to warm up to track because he thought he was too slow to become an elite runner at 1500 meters.
“Now the 1500 is my best event,” he said. “For so long I was always a cross-country guy.”
Until now.
Kelly Young was the other big winner — check that, double winner — for CSM. Three days after the sophomore repeated as conference champion in the women’s javelin and hammer throw, Young capped off a tour de force Saturday by repeating as champion in the shot put and later in the day capturing the discus throw — the only event she didn’t win last year.
The discus was long considered to be Young’s weakest event, but just like she did in her three other events, she completely outclassed the competition. Each of the second-place finishers in Young’s four events was so far back that Young was merely competing with herself. Young threw the shot put 12.27 meters (40 feet, 3.25 inches) and the discus 41.07 meters.
“It would be awesome if I could win the discus,” Young said moments after winning the shot put title. “I would love that. This year I feel more comfortable with what I’m doing because I can actually stay on my feet and not fall flat on my face.”
Young was referring to the fact that she didn’t have her fundamentals down pat last season, but that’s understandable. She only started competing in the field events in her senior year at Capuchino High. Now she’s a dominant force and favored to win three of her four events in the upcoming Northern California Championships. Other CSM athletes of note on the men’s side include Mykel Block, who finished second by a tenth of a second in the 100 hurdles, and James Aubrey, who had runner-up finishes in both the shot put and discus.
Young has come of age in a short period of time, making her another prototypical case of a community college athlete whose talent was always there but needed to be revealed. She had the top marks entering the meet in each of her events, and in two of those she’s rated among the top 10 in the nation. Young’s talent is in full bloom now, and everytime she launches a shot put, discus, hammer or javelin, it’s a sight to behold, with power, form, balance and agility being displayed all at once. Ten to 15 minutes after winning the shot put, Young was walking with a friend when friends and family members approached her. One of them asked, “Did you win?”
As if there was any doubt.
