Jonah Jeovany Vasquez of Cathedral is going for Disney-like ending at state track championships

A Cathedral High senior competes in the 1,600 at the CIF state track and field championships after a late start on track surfaces. He previously attended a small Los Angeles charter school, ran cross country with minimal coaching, and trained with limited weekly mileage. He placed third in the 2024 City Section Division V finals and later finished 76th at the state meet, which motivated him to train harder. After transferring to Cathedral, he received intensive coaching and ran 15:35 on the state championship course. Two weeks before the state meet, he was struck by an e-bike during a workout, suffered a knee injury, stopped training, and entered prelims without fitness.

"“I never even knew what a track felt like,” he said. “Everything was new to me.” For three years, he attended Alliance Leichtman-Levine, a small Los Angeles charter school near his home in South Los Angeles. He ran cross country on his own with little coaching. “They would hire a random coach off the street and we'd play flag football,” he said. His training was jogging on a treadmill for two miles and maybe getting eight to 10 miles a week."

"He finished third at the 2024 City Section Division V finals in 16:48 as the only representative from his school. In the state final, he finished 76th in Division V with a time of 16:58.60. That experience gave Vasquez motivation. “Seeing so many people pass me bothered me,” he said. “I promised myself I was going to train hard so it wouldn't happen again. I wanted to prove to myself I could run with the top guys.”"

"He transferred to Cathedral last May, and coach Martin Farfan aggressively trained him to make up for lost time. Vasquez ran 15:35 on the state championship course in Fresno. But two weeks before the state championships, he was struck by an E-bike during a 10-mile workout running along the L.A. River. He went flying and had a gash on his knee. “It was traumatic. I was at the peak of my power. I was super fit and faster than I had ever been,” he said."

"He iced the knee and stopped training. He still ran in the CIF prelims. “I had no fitness,” he said. “I was like a deer in the headlights.” Farfan started calling coaches telling them he had a talented runner but"

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