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.