By Leonard COUTIN Each year Crescenta Valley High School says goodbye to graduates who have successfully made their mark on the school and its community. Good teachers and good coaches helped shape and steer these young athletes in achieving their dreams and all can be proud of the caliber of students who have passed through the CVHS doors. CV Weekly reviews the paths of four Falcon runners since graduation. Michael Duncan, a recent graduate of Loyola Marymount University, fulfilled his dreams in running and preparing for a promising career in teaching. Duncan left Crescenta Valley High School four years ago having run for Coach Mark Evans in the 800m, 1600m, and 3200m and participating in the 4×400 relay. He ran a time of 1:56.84 in the Pacific League finals and bettered his time at the CIF prelims, running 1:56.50 as a senior. Duncan continued his love of running in college and competed as an NCAA Division 1 athlete in cross-country and track and field. At the Oxy Classic this year Duncan ran the 3000m steeplechase in a time of 9:29.70 to take third place in his heat. After his race, he commented on his upcoming adventure. “For the next year I will be living in Quito, Ecuador where I will spend a couple of months studying the Spanish language and about a year volunteering,” he said. “While in school I also got involved in a service organization called Magis. This is where I learned about what it means to dedicate yourself to something greater than yourself. I was fortunate to work with the homeless population of Los Angeles as well as with elementary school students who have been affected by domestic violence.” Nick Beatty is another of CVHS’ finest, both academically and athletically, who ran for Coach Evans and also played baseball for Coach Phil Torres. Before graduating from CVHS in 2014, in his senior year Beatty focused more intently on running and became a valuable asset to the team. He also participated on the same track team as Duncan, Gabe Collison and Matt Manalo. Beatty found his strength in the middle distances and 3200m races during the track season. In November 2013 Beatty, Collison and Manalo were all members of the cross-country team that placed fifth in CIF cross-country finals at Mt. SAC and ran at the CIF state meet in Fresno where they placed 11th at the finals. Beatty, Duncan, Esparza and Collision ran the second all-time fastest time in 2012 at the Mt. SAC Invitational in the 4×1600 relay. This record was set in 1976 and the team’s time now stands as the current school record at CV High School. Pursuing a major in neuroscience, Beatty hopes to become a doctor. His current personal record marks at Pomona are in the 5000m (15:15.08) at the SCIAC League where he placed 11th of 49 at Oxy. He also ran 4:02.4 in the 1500. Gabe Collison is another graduate of CV High School class of 2014. He is entering his junior year at the United States Naval Academy. Pursuing a career in mechanical engineering, Collison hopes after graduation to look at the Marine Corps or at possibly becoming a pilot. At CVHS Collison was ranked 13th in the CIF state cross-country meet running a time of 15:30 as a junior. He ran a PR time of 9:13.87 in the 3200m at the CIF prelims and placed fifth at the CIF finals in the 3200m running 9:15.34. When asked what his fondest memories were while attending CV High School, he said, “My favorite memory was coming back from track meets and chanting our track team song just as we pulled up to CV.” Matt Manalo also graduated in 2104 from CV. He has been running for Glendale Community College in cross-country and track. Finishing his second year, Manalo is ready to look at continuing his education. At CV, Manalo was an asset to the 2013 and 2014 cross-country teams, running the middle distances, during the track season. As a junior he ran the 1600m in 4:29.89 and his 800m marks were under two minutes. At GCC he ran 1:55.90 at the Oxy Distance Carnival. Manalo won the 1500m at the Southern California Championships on Saturday at Antelope Valley College. He advanced to the state meet, which is taking place at San Diego Mesa College, and finished ahead of the pack with a time of 4:04.21.

  Leonard Coutin