Track & Field
- Title:
- Assistant Coach - Distance
- Email:
- delizondo@athletics.ucla.edu
UCLA alumnus Devin Elizondo enters his fifth season with the Bruins as Assistant Coach โ Distance for the Track & Field and Cross Country Programs.
Elizondo helped lead the Bruinsโ young distance squad to a strong year in cross country. Peter Herold earned All-Region honors after a 25th-place finish at the NCAA West Regional Championships. The Bruin men took sixth at the Pac-12 Meet while the UCLA women improved two spots to take eighth place overall. True freshmen Mia Kane and Audrey Allen became key contributors on the womenโs side and junior Emma Tavella developed to become a No. 1 runner for the Bruins in postseason competition.
Ahead of the 2021 cross country season, Elizondo helped sign a freshman class of eight elite distance runners from up and down the West Coast. Four freshman Bruins are from Northern California, three are local products from Southern California, and one arrives in Westwood from Portland. Ajani Salcido is an 8:46 two-miler who won each of his seven cross country races this past season. Elizondo also brought in Patrick Curulla and Audrey Allen, who both earned NCS XC victories in 2019. Three of the four womenโs freshmen have already cracked the 5:00 barrier in the 1600m while Mia Kane from Portland owns a lifetime-best time of 4:38.92 in the 1500m.
Elizondo and the distance staff helped guide the UCLA Cross Country program to a successful season in a shortened 2020 campaign. The Bruin men and women each earned team victories at the Arizona Invitational (Feb. 5) and Dave Murry Invitational (Feb. 19). Michael Mireles earned an individual victory at the Arizona Invite on his freshman debut with the Bruins. Elizondo led six Bruin men to crack 3:50.00 in the 1500m, including Munir Kabbara, who ran 3:47.24 against USC to break the Lebanese national record in the event. Peter Herold etched his name in the UCLA record books after running 8:42.94 in the steeple at Pac-12s, the fifth-fastest time in program history. Elizondo also helped lead the Bruin women to a sweep of the distance events against USC, as Paige Carter (1500m), Emma Tavella (3000m), and Kira Loren (3000m steeplechase) picked up wins against the Trojans.
Elizondo helped the distance squad to an impressive 2020 indoor campaign. Junior Christina Rice broke the school record in the 5000m, clocking a time of 16:12.16 at the MPSF Championships. Rice also ran 9:20.02 in the 3000m at the UW Invitational, the second-fastest indoor mark in school history. Arturo Sotomayor (4:01.63) and Chris Morzenti (4:02.15) notched the No. 5 and No. 7 all-time UCLA indoor mile times, respectively, this past season. Graduating senior Colin Burke also etched his name in the program record books in his final season. Burke notched PRs in the 3000m (7:59.34) and 5000m (13:47.78), the No. 5 and No. 2 all-time UCLA marks in the events, respectively.
Elizondo also helped guide the menโs DMR squad (Riley Kelly, Chris Morzenti, Arturo Sotomayor, and Ismail Turner) to NCAA Qualification and eventual USTFCCCA All-America accolades.
The 2019 cross country campaign produced the first USTFCCCA All-American in Elizondoโs tenure, as Christina Rice finished 37th at the NCAA Championships to earn the accolade. It was the Bruinsโ first female All-American since Ashley Caldwell in 2005.
In the 2018 cross country season, Elizondo helped guide the womenโs and menโs squads to fifth- and sixth-place finishes, respectively, at the Pac-12 Championships. Erika Adler also qualified individually for the NCAA Championships. The 2019 track season saw Elizondo help coach Robert Brandt two three All-America honors (Indoor: 3000m, 5000m; Outdoor: 10,000m). He also helped guide the UCLA menโs and womenโs squads to victories in the 1500m, 3000m, and 3000m steeplechase in the annual dual meet against USC.
Elizondoโs first season on the distance staff in 2017 saw the menโs cross country team finished third at the Pac-12 Championships, with Brandt leading the 8k through Split 6. The menโs squad went on to finish fifth at Regionals and qualify for the NCAA Championships.
Elizondo previously served as head cross country coach and assistant track & field coach at UC Davis from 2014-2017. In his first cross country season at the helm, he led the Aggie women to their first Big West Conference title since 2011 and was named the conference Womenโs Cross Country Coach of the Year.
Elizondo graduated from UCLA in 1998 with a degree in history and enjoyed great success as a distance runner for the Bruins. He was a member of three Pac-10 track & field championship teams and also helped lead the cross country team to a pair of third-place conference finishes. Elizondo was the UCLA cross country teamโs Most Outstanding Freshman in 1994 and was selected to the All-District IX First Team in 1995.
