Interestingly, a fine runner who did not start until she was in Community College (see
below) - Gretchen Corrales (you may remember her as Gretchen Lohr) had a super
running career and branched out into coaching before stepping aside for family for a
time. She is back at Cal State LA in charge of the Women's Distance running groups
in the fall and spring, and took the time to explain a little about her own career and how
she ended up at Cal State.
Well I
actually didn't start running until College. I was on
the swim team at LAVC and I had a friend on the
X-Country Team..who kept bugging me to come out
because he knew I was very athletic. One day I was
leaving the pool and the x-c team was coming back from
a run....well one thing lead to another and by the
next day I was on the Team.My first X-Coutry race I
placed 8th...and the next couple of races I won....by
the next year I finished 2nd in the State
Championships in the 3000m(9:54) behind Sylvia
Mosqueda. After that I was recruited by several
different Colleges ...and I choose Cal State Los
Angeles.At CSLA,I was a 3 time All American and I
managed to place 5th in the 10,000m(33:54) at NCAA
Nationals Div I....and my time qualified me for USTF
Nationals and the 1988 Olympic Trials.
After College I pursued the marathon because my
Coach(Gregg Ryan) felt that would be my best event. My
first marathon I placed 8th(2:58)....and my next..the
L.A. Marathon I placed 4th(2:41) overall in the
Women's Division(1st American).After that I continued
running and joined a Team Asics Track West with Skip
Stolley...I competed for many years on the National
Level...I was lucky enough to go and compete in Japan
several times...Australia....
I got into coaching by someone mentioning that
an assistant coach was needed at ELAC...from there I
went on to Glendale CC as an assitant and then on to
LAVC as Head Coach....I was very successful at the CC
level and enjoyed working with the
student/athletes....I loved the fact that running gave
them self confidence to improve the rest of their
lives and almost all(99.9%) of them were able to get
some type of Scholorship to a 4-year school.
After 6 years of coaching I took a break and had
twins(a boy and a girl)....I got back into
running(pushing them up the hills in Griffith
Park)...and back into Coaching.
And finally....I was lucky enough to hear about
an opening at Cal State LA and I applied and got the
job....which I am very excited about...because I am
back at my College and ready to pass on everything I
have learned from great Coaches and great personal
experience...and I feel fortunate to work with the
other Coaches and Staff here at Cal State LA(Great
people and very supportive)....I am looking forward to
this year because the Coaching Staff here at CSLA
recruited well and the athletes already here are eager
to really run well and compete.......My Goals for the
Team this season are to Place in the top 3 in
Conference and qualify for Nationals..I beleive in
setting my goals high and I hope that rubs off on my
student/athletes.. Track...I want to be competitive
with the best schools in the Nation....and produce
some National Champions....
All in all I want to contribute to making the
X-Country /Track Program at CSLA...one of the best in
the Nation.The love of running and competing is what
drives me...and also the joy I get from seeing my
athletes succeed in this sport and in life.
Cal State Los Angeles is an excellent
school...with some of the best academic programs in
the United States...they have an award winning
Engineering Program and they are in the middle of
building a new Forensic Science Building which will
house one of the best programs in the Nation...great
Fine arts Program(my major)...just many great
programs...and the great thing is that Cal State
LA...is very diverse as far as people and not so big
as to feel lost...plus you have Proffessors and
Coaches who are into the students and seeing them
succeed.
Well...Doug I hope I have given you some insight
into where I came from and where I am heading.....and
I want to thank you for taking the time in being
interested ....Sincerely,Gretchen
CSLA Coaching Info:
Gretchen Corrales, Assistant Coach
Gretchen Corrales comes back to Cal State L.A. after serving as assistant coach at Los Angeles Community College and will be responsible for coaching the Golden Eagle cross country and distance runners.
Corrales, who competed at CSULA in the 1980s as Gretchen Lohr, also has coached the track and field teams at Los Angeles Valley College, Glendale Community College and East L.A. College, leading her squads to numerous conference championships.
Corrales competed at CSULA from 1986-88, earning three All-America awards, including a sixth-place finish in the 10,000 meters at the 1987 NCAA Division I Championships. She also qualified for the 1988 Olympic Trials in the 10,000 meters and in 1989 took fourth place in the women's division of the Los Angeles Marathon. She currently ranks second in CSULA history in the 5,000 (16:30.20) and 10,000 (33:54.57) meters, third in the 3,000 meters (9:45.69) and seventh in the 1,500 meters (4:34.80).
She also was a key member of the CSULA women's cross country squad that finished as NCAA runner-up in 1987.
Corrales earned her BFA from the California Institute of Arts in 1983.
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