In his eighth season as the Falcons women’s track and field coach, Michael Allen saw his team finally reach their goal of wining the state championship, as they collected their second title in school history. It was one year after the team placed second and missed the title by just four points. In his eight seasons, Michael Allen has coached 16 state champions, including two last season. With the state title, Allen was named the state’s Women’s Coach of the Year. In his tenure as the women’s track and field head coach, Allen has led his team’s to a second place finish in the State Championships as well as 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.

                Twenty 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 26 South Coast Conference individual champions in the last two seasons and have won the conference and Southern California Championship two seasons in a row. Along with the other accomplishments, 86 different running and field marks have cracked the school’s top five in the past six years, while three more school records were broken last season.

                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.