Christopher Zepeda |
Coach Zepeda enters his 3nd season at Hartnell
College and will continue to direct the program after serving as an assistant
in 2007. Since becoming a Panther, the distance squad has continued to
excel under Zepeda's guidance. In just just two track seasons, Zepeda has brought six Norcal titles to Hartnell along with new school records in the 5,000 and 10,000 meter runs. Prior to Hartnell College, Coach Z
spent the last three years as an assistant at Butte College and served
as the head coach at Biggs High School. While at Butte
College, Coach Zepeda enjoyed a tremendous amount of success in the distance
events at the conference, Norcal, and state level. In 2005, Zepeda guided
Butte's Oscar Uribe to the cross country individual title. Since 2004,
his athletes have won the Norcal 1500, 5k, and 10k titles as well as the
men's state 1500 title in 2006. In 2004 and 2005, Coach Z guided a high
school athlete to the CIF State Cross Country Championships along
with a state berth at 800 meters in 2005. |
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Coach Mankins has been
a part of the Hartnell Track and Field program since 1995. He has coached
numerous throws athletes that have gotten it done in the classroom, weightroom,
and out in the hammer cage. Coach Mankins has guided many Hartnell hammer throwers to the Norcal and State Championhips. Recently, he coached Cesar Puga (Alisal HS) to a state berth in the hammer throw in 2008. |
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Coach Ward enters his 9th season with the Panthers. Mike brings with him a rich wealth of knowledge from his background in track and field. Coach Ward is the current Hartnell College school record holder in the 100m (10.40) & 200m (20.87). Ward also earned All-American Division I honors while competing at Fresno State in both relays in 1999-2000. In 2008, Coach Ward guided Deleynna Martinez (Alisal HS) to a second consecutive trip to the state championships in the triple jump. He also added two new marks to the women's top 20 all-time list in the triple jump.
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Pat Young (Discus & Shot Put) |
Coach Young has been working with the throwers at Hartnell College for last 9 years. Prior to that, he coached both football and track at area high schools. During his long coaching career, Coach Young has been fortunate to guide several athletes to the California community college state track and field championships. Coach Young believes this year's crop of Panther throwers has the potential to earn all-state honors. Coach Young was first introduced to the shot put and discus events when he was a junior in high school. Guided by his inspirational high school coach, Coach Young earned trips to the California high school state meet as both a junior and senior at Taft High School. A full scholarship to play football at Cal Poly SLO put an end to his short throwing career but Coach Young still finds great satisfaction in sharing his knowledge and expertise with young throwers. In 2008. Coach Young guided Cesar Puga (Alisal HS) to a new school record in the discus throw and an All-American honor at the state championship. The pair also traveled to Columbus, Ohio for the USA Track and Field Junior National Championships.
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Ed Barber enters his 2nd season as the sprint and multi-event coach. Ed is a 1978 graduate of Fresno Pacific University in Education. With credentials in elementary, high school, and community college levels, Coach Barber has been teaching for 28 years at the high school level. Now retired from teaching and married for 33 years with two married children, Coach Barber is a proud grandpa. Coach Barber competed as a decathlete at Fresno Pacific University. He was the District Champion in 1976 & 1977. In his junior and senior years he was anational qualifier in the decathlon placing 7th in 1978. A Level III certified USATF Coach, Coach Barber took Calvin Harrison (44.78) to the Olympic Trials in Atlanta 1996. Calvin went on to earn a gold medal in the 4x400m Relay. In 1993, the North Salinas HighVikings were Co-State Champions under his guidance. Coach Barber has had many state qualifiers and league championships. He now looks forward to working with the Hartnell coaching staff. In 2008, Coach Barber helped Oliver Shabram (Carmel HS) and Johnny Nguyen (N. Salinas HS) qualify to the state championships in the decathlon. In addition, he added another Norcal pole vault champion to Hartnell's history with Nguyen taking the title in 2008.
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Coach Weese graduated from Montana State University (MSU) in 2003 where he was a four time All American and three time Big Sky Conference Champion in cross country, indoor, and outdoor track. Coach Weese was the team captain for the first MSU men’s cross country team to qualify for the NCAA Division I championships where the team placed eleventh. This finish is the highest place by any MSU athletic team in a Division I-A championship. He continued his running career after college and has run in numerous USATF national championship races in cross country, indoor, and outdoor track, including the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Track and Field Trials. Coach Weese lives with his wife, Sierra, in Marina. He is currently working toward his certified general real estate appraisal license and is employed by the Appraisal Resource Group in Salinas, CA. Coach Weesee enjoys the team environment of collegiate athletics and will assist with the distance athletes.Coach Weese has been instrumental in continuing the success of the distance runners at Hartnell. Coach Weese in USA Track and Field Level I certified for all events. He is also working on a M.A. in Coaching and Administration from Concordia University (Irvine, CA).
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Sierra is in her second season at Hartnell as a volunteer assistant for the women’s distance program. Coach Weese graduated from Montana State University in 2003 where she was a member of the MSU cross country and track teams from 1999 – 2003. In high school, Sierra was a member of the1997 Montana state cross country championship team as well as a two time individual state champion in the 1600m and 3200m in 1999. Sierra and her husband Lyle have been involved in the running community since they moved from Montana in the fall of 2005. Sierra assists with the Just Run program in local area middle schools. The Just Run program encourages an active lifestyle and healthy choices for elementary and middle school students in Monterey County. Sierra is a certified Level USATF Coach and is excited to work with the immense talent the Hartnell athletes show. Sierra currently works for Wild Tyme Deli & Bakery in Marina where she is the Director of Event Sales and Planning.
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Grecia is in her first year of assisting with the track and field program. Her duties will be daily practice supervision of the women's distance runners. Coach Grecia competed locally at North Monterey County High School where she was a member of three consecutive Monterey Bay League championship teams in cross country. As a senior at NMC HS, Coach Grecia was the MBL individual champion. As a member of the track and field team, she enjoyed three MBL team titles. Coach Grecia continued her running career at Hartnell College under Coach Gary Shaw. While at Hartnell, her cross country teams were back to back Coast Conference champions. In 2005, Garcia was the individual Coast Conference champion. As a member of the track and field team, Garcia was instrumental in bringing two Coast Conference titles for the women to Hartnell. Coach Grecia was a state qualifier in the 5,000 meter run in 2006. After Hartnell, Coach Grecia competed at Sacramento State University in cross country and track. She is currently finishing her degree at CSU Monterey Bay. |
Larry Mankins
Ed Barber 
