Recent graduate Elijah Sandoval has signed to run Track & Field at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. The Friars’ hurdler shared, “I chose Cal Poly Pomona because of the beautiful campus and the history my family has with the school. Both of my parents attended Pomona, and explained to me the great education they received in their time at the school. I look forward to continuing to pursue success in education at the university.”
He went on to say, “As for the track program, Coach Bradford and the sprint/hurdle coach, Coach Smith, gave me such a warm welcome on my tour of the track and training facilities. The two coaches watched me run at the end of the season and this really made me feel like they wanted me as a part of their team.”
A decorated Track athlete for Servite, he ran both the 110 and 300 Hurdles as well as the 4×100 and 4×400 team relays. His senior season he won a Trinity League title with the 4×100 relay team posting a time of 42.15 while finishing 2nd in the 4×400 relay and 300 Hurdles. He went on to qualify and compete at CIF and State in all three events.
Coach Richard Gibbs shared, “Elijah Sandoval is a quintessential Servite guy. This season he ran four events every meet. He helped the 4 by 1 and the 4 by 4 teams make CIF and State finals. He is a team guy, with a great work ethic both on the track and in the classroom. He will do exceedingly well at Cal Poly. It was a pleasure to have him on the team these last four years, he will be hard to replace.”
Sandoval adds his name to an impressive list of past Servite hurdlers to compete the next level which includes his older brother Kyle ’17 who went on to run at UC Irvine. Together they are two of six Friars to compete collegiately since 2017.
In closing Sandoval shared, “I would like to say thank you to my family for being so supportive and making the sacrifices to get me an amazing education and athletic experience at Servite. I would also like to thank the entire Servite track team and all of the coaches for putting so much time and dedication into our success as athletes. Without my family and all of the coaches and Servite community, I would not be in the position I am now.”
