NCAA West Preliminaries Preview
By Bill Sheehan
Danny Ramirez has overcome injuries to become an inspirational figure in his five years on Cal State Fullerton's track and field team. Junior college transfer Nicole Clark just joined the squad a few months ago. Now the veteran and the rookie are stepping onto the biggest stage of their athletic careers.
Ramirez and Clark are among a dozen Titan men and women who will compete starting Thursday at the three-day NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships West Preliminary in Sacramento.
Forty-eight individuals and 24 relay teams qualified for both the West Preliminary and the East Preliminary, which is being held in Tampa, Florida. The top 24 individuals and 12 relay teams from each preliminary will advance to the NCAA finals June 6-9 in Eugene, Oregon.
"Having our kids advance to the NCAAs is the icing on the cake," said Fullerton head coach John Elders, who was just named the Big West Men's Coach of the Year for the second straight season. "The NCAA preliminaries is a great opportunity for some of our elite athletes to move on and shine."
Ramirez, a fifth-year senior who graduated last week, qualified in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 8:57:10, which ranks 44th in the West Preliminary. Clark, a junior and midyear transfer, ranks 27th in the javelin field with a toss of 156'-8" (47.77 meters).
Doubling in cross country and track
The Anaheim-born Ramirez had a promising freshman year in cross country and track and field, finishing fifth in the steeplechase at the Big West Championships. As a sophomore, he achieved a personal best 18:05.1 in a 6K cross-country race and sensed that he was becoming an elite runner.
But while training for the 2015 track season, the 6-foot tall Ramirez suffered a stress fracture of the right femur. "I overtrained that winter, going 85 to 90 miles a week at a considerable fast pace," he said. Ramirez redshirted in track that spring and halted workouts for nearly three months.
In fall 2015, the stress fracture flared up again and Ramirez redshirted in cross country. And although he resumed his cross-country career the next year, a raft of leg injuries forced him to sit out the 2016 and 2017 track seasons.
After his three-year hiatus, a healthy Ramirez returned to the oval this season. At the Big West Championships, he finished second in the steeplechase and fifth in the 5,000 meters to help the Titan men win their second straight title.
Ramirez, 22, credits Fullerton assistant coach Alex Tebbe with helping to make his comeback possible. "Coach Tebbe did a really, really good job getting me ready" using a training program with lowered mileage, said Ramirez, who believes a time in the 8:49-8:52 range could propel him to the NCAA finals.
At times, the Ramirez feared his running career would end prematurely. "After the first injury, I wasn't disheartened. But after the second and third injuries, I started to have some doubts. I thought, 'Maybe you are not meant for this.' But I always hung on to the small hope or belief that I should be here and that I do belong here."
Elders marvels at Ramirez's resilience.
"Danny is an amazing story. For three years, he had multiple injuries. He persevered and kept coming back," said Elders. "He is a great example of someone who stuck with it. He was able to train this year without an injury. I am super-happy for him."
The clear highlight on a very productive day for the Titans was Nicole Clark becoming the first in program history to win the women's javelin conference championship! #TusksUp https://t.co/PjsFAX2fLe pic.twitter.com/ThV9wMjYq9
— Titan Track & Field (@FullertonTFXC) May 12, 2018
A record-setting debut
Unlike Ramirez, Clark's trip to the NCAA preliminaries has been a relatively short one. The 5-foot-4 javelin thrower transferred to Fullerton in January from El Camino College near Torrance. In her first meet as a Titan, Clark set a school record in March with a toss of 144'-11" (44.17m) at Fullerton's Ben Brown Invitational.
"I knew going in I had a chance to set it," said Clark, a Torrance native. "I had exceeded that record at El Camino."
Clark then became frustrated after her peformances leveled off for several weeks. She said assistant coach Chris Witscher told her to trust the training process.
She heeded her coach and it paid off. Clark threw a personal best 156'-8" (47.77m) at the Steve Scott Invitational in Irvine in late April. And in May, she won the Big West Championships with a throw of 151'-2" (46.08m), becoming the first Titan to win a conference title in the women's javelin.
"Coach Chris is a big reason for my success here," said Clark, 21. "We don't throw every day because he knows javelin is such a taxing event." Instead, Witscher mixes it up with weight-lifting, runway drills and tossing weighted balls, she said.
Clark likes everything she has experienced in her brief time at Fullerton. "I love it here. There are so many more opportunities for me. The athletic training staff is amazing. And the academic advisors and study hall are great."
The 5-foot-4 righthander said a 51.0-meter throw would likely get her to the NCAA finals.
"Nicole blew the conference away in the javelin," said Elders. "She is such a team person. She is very involved in supporting others and is a great competitor."
An individual sport and a team sport
Clark and Ramirez both said a main reason they enjoy track and field is that it has both individual and team aspects.
"I picked track and field because it is an individual sport but also a team sport," said Clark. "I have to worry about myself and what I do. But once my event is over, I can go cheer the others. At Big West, because I got first, I got 10 points for our women's team. That means a lot to me."
Ramirez said his teammates' support helped him navigate the ups and downs during his career. "My teammates would motivate and push me as I came back from my injuries," said Ramirez. "They helped me focus, and I felt really close to my friends on the team. Even when I was injured, I would show up at practices and nearby meets to cheer them on."
Samuel Pimentel, a cross country and track teammate, said Ramirez has been a role model for his fellow Titans.
"Danny is one of the most humble people I've met so far," said Pimental, a redshirt sophomore from Anaheim. "He is always supportive and has your back for everything. It was really great to see him last the whole season.
"I really admire how hard he works and how far he has come. Every year he'd get back up (from his injuries) and give it his all. I think he could get to the NCAA finals. He has one hell of a story. He never gave up. I strive for that same courage he has."
Brother paves the way
Ramirez attended Buena Park High School, where he ran cross country and track all four years. He became interested in running after watching his older brother, David, take up the sport in high school. "I got into running by watching my brother compete. It seemed like fun."
David, who is one year older than Danny, enrolled at Fullerton and ran cross country. Danny joined him on the Titan team the following year.
"I started steeplechase in my freshman year at Fullerton," said Ramirez. "I like the technical aspects of steeplechase. Working on hurdling technique, water jumps and being efficient during the race are what I find to be challenging and fun."
He received a business degree with a double concentration in finance and information systems, and hopes to join the workforce soon. But he isn't ready to give up yet on track yet. He plans on joining a running club once his Titan career ends.
From pole vault to javelin
Clark started her track and field career as a junior at North High School in Torrance. She began pole vaulting full time her senior year and planned on sticking with the discipline after arriving at El Camino College.
"The track at El Camino was under construction when I got there, so I went and trained with throwers," she said. "The throws coach handed me a javelin and said, "Throw this." When the coaches found out I'd succeed more in the javelin than the pole vault, I just threw the javelin."
"What I like best about the javelin is that I literally get to throw a spear for my sport. And the reaction on people's faces when they find out what I do is the funniest thing ever," said Clark, who enjoys painting with acrylics and drawing with paper and pencil.
A communications major with a concentration in public relations, Clark wants to become a firefighter. She volunteered at the 2017 World Police and Fire Games in West Los Angeles, where she retrieved javelins during the track and field competition. And she also was a volunteer at the 2015 Special Olympics World Games at UCLA.
"I worked at five different venues at the Special Olympics," she said. "The Isle of Man football (soccer) team came up to talk with me and they were the nicest guys. They asked me to come see their games. I watched them play in the championship game, and they won the gold."
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