Now in his 17^th year as the college’s director of track and field, Doug Wells has once again compiled one of the most talented and deepest squads in his tenure at Cerritos. This past season, the women’s team placed second in the State Championships after winning the Southern California Regionals. On the men’s side, they finished in seventh place in the State Championships after placing third in the Southern California Regionals. The women’s team also won the South Coast Conference championship last season with the men coming in second place. In addition to running the track and field program and serving as the men’s cross-country coach for the past six seasons, Wells also spent 10 years as an assistant football coach, until retiring from the gridiron seven years ago. Wells has had a great deal of success as a track and field coach, especially at Taft College. In 10 years at Taft, he guided his teams to a state championship and seven conference titles, while Wells was named the California Coach of the Year twice. At Cerritos, he was named the California Coaches Association Coach of the Year for the third time in his career, while he was awarded the Coach of the Year honor by the California Track and Running News five times.

          Wells attended Porterville Union High School, where he was a football and track star. He transferred to the University of Utah, where he competed in the NCAA Championships and was an All-American as a decathlete in 1970, while also playing fullback on the football team. Wells continued to compete in track events and won several shot put and discus National Championships in Master’s competition. Wells earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Physical Education from the University of Utah.

          Wells and his wife Darlene reside in Carson and have five children – Ron, Rene, Cherri, Gordon and Jason, along with six grandchildren. His youngest son, Jason, was an All-Big West selection in football in 1992 and his eldest grandson, Ian Crichton, competed on the Falcon track team for two seasons. In both years, he placed in the state championships in the javelin.

          After spending the last seven years as the Cerritos College women’s track and field coach, Michael Allen has coached over a dozen state champions and led the team to a second place finish in the State Championships last season. In addition, he has led them to two third places, a fourth place, and two fifth place finishes. In his first year at the Norwalk campus, Allen also served as one of the defensive line coaches on the football team.

          Seventeen new school records have been set during Allen’s tenure, including April Brown, who became just the second person to win the 100-meters at the State Championships two seasons in a row back in 2002-03. In addition, Allen has coached 18 South Coast Conference individual champions, including 11 last season as the Falcons won the conference. His team went on to win the Southern California championship last year after placing third the last two seasons. Along with the other accomplishments, 65 different running and field marks have cracked the school’s top five in the past six years, while five school records were broken last season alone.

          Allen came to Cerritos after spending eight years (1991-98) at Banning High, where he helped lead the Pilots to the 1991 LA City Championship. Prior to coaching at Banning, Allen coached at Los Angeles Harbor College from 1980-87 and guided them to five Western State Conference championships and a 45-0 dual meet record.

          Allen, who was an All-Marine League selection in football and track and field at Banning High, was also a two-time All-Conference selection in both sports at LA Harbor. Allen went on to earn All-Conference honors for two years at Long Beach State, while he also qualified for the NCAA Championships two years in a row. Allen earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education from Long Beach State and also works full-time for the County of Los Angeles Probation Department.

          Allen and his wife Vicki and one child (Aja) and live in Long Beach.

          Gary Gaudet has been involved in the Cerritos College track and field program since 1976, when he was named the head coach. He spent most of his time with the women’s program until 1994, when he left the college. He is now back for his sixth year as an assistant and the track program has picked up with his presence. Back in 1981, he helped lead the Falcons to their first Southern California championship, as well as their lone State Championship, while he was named the California Coach of the Year in 1982.

          Prior to coming to Cerritos, Gaudet was a coach at St. John Bosco High School from 1965-73 and was also a coach at Long Beach City from 1974-76. Gaudet recently retired after serving over 30 years as a teacher and administrator.

          A former football player and track athlete for the college, Gaudet transferred to Long Beach State, where he competed in track and field. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education from Long Beach State and Master’s Degree in School Management from the University of LaVerne.

          Gaudet is single and lives in Long Beach.

Debbie Jensen came to Cerritos College in 1995 as the head women’s soccer coach and assistant track and field coach. In addition to her coaching responsibilities, she also teaches P.E. classes and is in her fifth year as Athletic Coordinator assisting Jeff Smith, the Athletic Director. 

Jensen will begin her seventh season as the men’s and women’s assistant track and field coach for the Falcons. For the 2006 season, Jensen will be coaching the jumps. In her tenure at Cerritos, Jensen has coached 12 state finalists which include one state champion in the men’s high jump, men’s and women’s long jump, women’s triple jump, women’s high jump and men’s and women’s javelin. 

Jensen also spent 1999-2002 as an assistant track coach at Vanguard University, where she coached two All-Americans, one in the women’s Indoor 400m and one in the men’s Indoor High Jump. Jensen also had five other national qualifiers in the men’s long jump, women’s Indoor 55m, men’s Indoor 60m hurdles, Outdoor women’s high jump and women’s 400m. In 1999 Jensen coached the conference champion in the women’s heptathlon. 

Prior to her arrival at Cerritos College, Jensen spent two years in Louisiana, attending attended Louisiana Tech University (1993-94), a Division I school, as a graduate assistant for the men’s and women’s track and field team. There, Jensen worked closely with the assistant coach in the sprints, hurdles, jumps and recruiting. The next year Jensen moved to Lafayette, Louisiana where she taught P.E. and was the head girl’s cross country and track coach at Acadiana H.S. Jensen coached two girls who qualified for state finals in the discus and javelin. 

From 1989-93 Jensen taught P.E. and coached at Corona High School as the head boy’s and girl’s track and field coach for three years and an assistant for one year. Her girl’s teams were league champions three years in a row and the boy’s were league champs one year. In her three years as head coach, Jensen coached two state finalists, two state prelim qualifiers, and 25 league champions. Jensen was named Mt. View League Coach of the Year four times. 

Jensen received her Bachelor’s degree and teaching credential in Physical Education from Cal State Fullerton. She then earned her Master’s degree in Health, Physical Education from Louisiana Tech University. Jensen ran cross country and track for the Southern California Cheetahs and Arcadia High School, then  ran cross country for Citrus College. Jensen is a certificated member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association. 

Jensen is the granddaughter of Ernie Jensen, who was a P.E. teacher and coach at Excelsior and Bellflower high schools. Ernie was a very successful track coach who started the Bellflower National Relays and coached one of his two-mile relay teams to a national high school record.