PATIENCE REWARDED LLAMAS MAKES STRIDES WITH CAL POLY.Byline: Kirby Lee Staff Writer Luke Llamas entered Cal Poly Cal Poly may refer to:
adj. 1. Of, relating to, or held to resemble a college. 2. Of, for, or typical of college students. 3. Of or relating to a collegiate church. career was through. Those aspirations aspirations npl → aspiraciones fpl (= ambition); ambición f aspirations npl (= hopes, ambition) → aspirations fpl became reality this fall for the Canyon High graduate. Llamas finished the season as the No. 5 runner for a San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo (săn l  `ĭs ōbĭs`pō), city (1990 pop. 41,958), seat of San Luis Obispo co., S Calif., near San Luis Obispo Bay; inc. 1856. team that placed 13th in the NCAA NCAAabbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I championships in Waterloo, Iowa Waterloo is the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 68,747. It belongs to the Cedar Falls-Waterloo Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the larger of the two cities, by population. , last month. A week and a half before, he helped the Mustangs place second in the NCAA West Regional as the team's fifth runner, giving the the school its first automatic berth into nationals. At the start of the season, Llamas wasn't even sure whether he would be among Cal Poly's top seven runners. He was left at home when the team traveled to the NCAA pre-meet run on the national-championship course. ``I really didn't know the course,'' Llamas said. ``I just wanted to train and do my best. I was the kind of the back-of-the-pack guy, but (there were) so many guys so close together.'' Llamas finally got his chance in the Big West Conference finals at his home course, and he turned in a strong showing at the Cal Poly Invitational in·vi·ta·tion·al adj. Restricted to invited participants: an invitational golf tournament. n. An event, especially a sports tournament, restricted to invited participants. Adj. 1. the day the Mustangs sent a split squad competing in the NCAA pre-meet. Llamas finished sixth as the team's fourth runner to earn a spot on the traveling squad for nationals and regionals. ``He is a very talented young man, and I was hoping that he would be able to contribute,'' Cal Poly coach Marc Conover said. ``We have a very deep team and there was a big group of runners hovering hov·er intr.v. hov·ered, hov·er·ing, hov·ers 1. To remain floating, suspended, or fluttering in the air: gulls hovering over the waves. 2. in the No. 5-7 range. It was a coach's decision to leave him home (for the pre-meet). He wound up having a great race and, in the end, he proved he belonged.'' Llamas never received that chance last fall, missing the entire season after spraining his ankle. Canyon coach Dave DeLong saw Llamas' potential as a high school freshman but said his biggest issue was his limited time devoted to running. Llamas, an avid soccer player, also is heavily involved in church activities. He is majoring in philosophy and speech communication with designs on becoming a minister. ``Luke is a really busy guy, and my concern was him willing to put the time in to run,'' DeLong said. ``That is still a struggle, and there are a lot of loves in his live. He seems like he is doing a good job of balancing them.'' Llamas spent three hours visiting at DeLong's home last week during the two-week winter break and planned to run with the Canyon cross country team before he returns to school next month. Llamas said he ran more volume in high school (80 to 85 miles per week) than he does in college (65 to 70), but the intensity is much greater. ``I am more drained than in high school, and our workouts are more difficult,'' Llamas said. ``One thing that has been really different is having a huge pack of guys and side by side.'' Llamas began to show his promise during his senior year at Canyon, when he won the 2001 Southern Section Div. I title and finished second in the state meet last spring in track. At Cal Poly, he finished fourth in the Big West meet in the steeplechase steeplechase Either of two distinct sporting events: (1) a horse race over a closed course with obstacles, including hedges and walls; or (2) a footrace of 3,000 m over hurdles and a water jump. in his first season in the technical event. In the West Region final, Llamas was the top freshman, finishing ninth in 8 minutes, 57.99 seconds, the ninth-fastest mark in school history. Llamas said the discipline and commitment he acquired while at Canyon under DeLong has been a boost to his collegiate success. It doesn't hurt to have Canyon teammates Jameson Mora MORA, In civil law. This term, in mora, is used to denote that a party to a contract, who is obliged to do anything, has neglected to perform it, and is in default. Story on Bailm. Sec. 123, 259; Jones on Bailm. 70; Poth. Pret a Usage, c. 2, Sec. 2, art. 2, n. and Nick Zoetewey on the team at Cal Poly, either. There is an ongoing debate among the Canyon runners and runners at San Diego Mesa College San Diego Mesa College is a public, two-year community college located in the Kearny Mesa neighborhood of San Diego, California. Academics Mesa College is coeducational. It has a semester-based academic calendar and resides on a campus of 104 acres (421,000 m²). over which distance program is better. ``I think the kids from (Canyon) taste success at an early age and are expected to perform,'' said Conover, the 1988 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials champion who was named West Region cross country coach of the year this fall. ``The big-meet experience really helped prepare the guys.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Former Canyon cross country runner Luke Llamas has been a pleasant surprise at Cal Poly this season. Kirby Lee/Special to the Daily News |
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