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In his ninth
season as the Falcons women’s track and
field coach, Michael Allen saw his team
finally reach their goal of wining the state
championship two seasons ago, 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. Last year, the team came in 14th
place. In his nine seasons, Michael Allen
has coached individual state champions. With
the state title in 2006, 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 teams 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 three seasons and won
the conference and Southern California
Championship two seasons in a row from
2005-06. Along with the other
accomplishments, 89 different running and
field marks have cracked the school’s top
five in the past seven years.
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. |
