De Anza College’s freshman-heavy track and field team has had to contend with inclement weather and a lack of a home track for much of the season.

“With everything that’s happened, we’re in pretty good shape right now,” head coach Nick Mattis said.

The Dons have participated in 11 meets so far, and have five more before the NorCal Championship Finals on May 11, which will take place at the College of San Mateo. The California Community College state championships will take place a week later on May 18 and 19.

Mattis said at the start of the season he expected the women’s team to lag behind the men, but  they have “stepped up and taken the lead.” He added the women are hampered by their small roster size of 17, the second-smallest he’s had in his five years at De Anza.

“The talent’s there, just not the depth that we’ve had in the past,” Mattis said, “and the guys have a lot of depth, and they’re learning.”

The women’s team has earned 12 state qualifying ‘A’ marks, generally the minimum mark needed to make it to the state finals, though not a guarantee.

The team’s highest state ranked athlete is Alexa Torres, who ranks fifth in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 39 minutes, 55 seconds. She ran the event, the first 10,000-meter of her career, at the Bob Rush Let’s Make Up on April 3.

The women also have two top-10 athletes in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, an event with four hurdles and one water jump each of its seven laps. Dominique Guinnane and Oddessy Tapia rank seventh and ninth, respectively. Both ran their best times at the Ed Adams Invitational on April 14, with Guinnane edging out Tapia to win the race.

Assistant distance coach Jessica Paranthaman said the women are the best she’s coached in her three years at De Anza.

“When we ask them to run hard, they run hard,” she said. “They don’t ditch.”

The sole male athlete with a state qualifying ‘A’ mark is sophomore thrower Wade Tsang. His discus throw of 156 feet 1 inch at the Ed Adams Invitational ranks him 13th in the state.

Distance runners Erick Almaguer and Ryan Miranda are ranked 12th and 18th, respectively, in the 10,000-meter run.

For the first two months of the season, the team practiced on the De Anza track, which was marred by holes, uneven areas and lack of grip and cushioning. These issues meant De Anza has not been allowed to hold home meets for the past eight years.

Mattis blames some injuries like shin splints and ankle problems on practicing on the old De Anza track.

“Our track just injures people,” Mattis said. “It was kind of ‘train there or train nowhere.'”

When construction on a new track began in late February, practices moved to Homestead High School.

Distance runner Erick Almaguer said the De Anza track caused him heel pain, and Homestead is an improvement.

“This track is soft,” he said.

Mattis said the overall health of team has improved as the season nears its end.

Most of the team walks or jogs the 1.5 miles to Homestead. This has cut into practice time somewhat, with practice usually starting around 2:15 p.m., instead of the usual 1:30 p.m.

To further complicate matters, pole vaulters go to West Valley College once a week and throwers practice at Oak Grove High School in San Jose twice a week.

Thrower Wade Tsang said having to get permission to use fields, coordinate times with coaches and the extra travel was “tedious.”

“It’s time-consuming,” he said. “It’s been stressful on the body.”

Feelings that the practice situation is not ideal was echoed by several other team member.

“It’s been tough,” said sprinter Luke Williams.

Distance runner Alexa Torres said other athletes have been affected more than she has.

“It sucks not having (the track) here,” Torres said. “But anywhere you go, you just do the same thing-just running.” 

Rain and wind has also limited the amount and quality of practices.

“It’s really hard to improve times and get PRs (personal records),” Paranthaman said.

Freshman Rulsell Moreno, 19, practicing shot put.

Donte Williams, who leads the team in 100 and 200 meter dashes, warming up; Donte finished second in the 100-meter sprint with a time of 10.94 seconds at the Ed Adams Invitational on April 14.