Nick Mattis started coaching track and field at De Anza College in 2007, and  had 30 students on the  team  his first season. The track and field team now has 53 students (20 women and 33 men). They compete in 21 different events in track and field, eight field events and four of them are jumping events. 

The Track and Field Team is doing very good this season, Mattis said. “We have bad facilities and we are still awesome!”

Physical Education major Alyssa Sialaris came from Leigh High. She started doing track in sixth grade and also played volleyball. When she came to De Anza she wanted to join the track and field team, but she played the 2009 and the 2010 women’s volleyball season at De Anza. She wants to transfer out Northridge or Whittier University. 

Kinesiology major Derek White came from Oak Grove High, where he ran track for three years. When he came to De Anza he planned on competing in track and transferring to CSU Northridge or UC Berkeley. He wants to get his Master’s in physical education. 

Karina Thompson, who goes by Jackee, studied at Mount Pleasant High. She has been doing track since she was the age of 9. She played basketball for one season at De Anza (fall 2009-winter 2010). Her plans for the future are to transfer to the University of Arizona or Oregon. She wants to do research in medicine. 

Sociology major Thompson Ly came from Santa Teresa High where he´s been competing in  track for 11 years. When he came to De Anza he wanted to meet new people. He stopped participating in track in 2009 because of an injury, but he´s now recovered and back. He would like to transfer to UC Berkeley or UC Davis. 

Philosophy major Lisa Oliveras came from Piedmont Hills High, where she competed in wrestling and soccer. Her plans when she came to De Anza were to get an education and transfer to a four-year university. Oliveras just finished a heptathlon with seven events in two days, and now she´s sixth in De Anza’s all-time school history. She´s also qualified for state. She would like to transfer to Long Beach State. 

Communications major Kevin Rutledge came from Los Gatos High. He ran track and volleyball since eighth grade and he´s completely devoted to track. His plans are to transfer to a 4-year university and two of his choices are UCLA and USC.

The De Anza Track and Field Team hosted two high schools on April 14 and 15 and went to their last event in Merritt College in Oakland.

De Anza College’s Track and Field team. (Alexandra Mosquera/LA VOZ WEEKLY)