Sports

Thousands Take to the Streets for the 37th L.A. Marathon

Jorge Devotto Ordoñez | Staff Writer

On Sunday, March 20 the 37th annual Los Angeles (L.A.) Marathon was held in the city of Los Angeles, starting at the Dodger Stadium in Downtown L.A. and ending in Century Park, Culver City. According to the L.A. Times, this year the L.A. Marathon had 14,300 participants ranging from the ages of 12 to 88, from 45 nations, and from all 50 states.

Delvine Meringor, an elite female runner from Kenya, won the race with a time of 2 hours 25 minutes and 3 seconds. John Korir, also from Kenya, was second place with a time of 2 hours 9 minutes and 7 seconds. This is Korir’s second consecutive win of the LA Marathon.

Meringor crossed the line followed closely by Korir who crossed it eight seconds after . Korir tried hard to catch her, but the Kenyan woman kept a strong pace and held him off. Women began the race approximately 18 minutes before the men based on the women’s and men’s expected race times.

At the 19.5th mile, located near Santa Monica Boulevard intersection with Manning Avenue, two running clubs joined forces to cheer and support the event. Valley Runners Los Angeles (VRLA) and Team Crüda were all out supporting their participants and mostly everyone else passing by during the LA Marathon.

One of the founders of VRLA, Marisol De Santiago, was in charge of the music of the day as DJ. “It has been eight years since we started doing this event and this is our second year at this location.” said De Santiago.

The members staged their canopies and colorful balloons at the Northwest corner of Manning Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard. "The Beast”, Juan De Santiago, and Sergio Morales were the MCs rallying the congested corner with their cheers and words of encouragement to the passing runners. Keeping the energy always high, they pumped the volume when runners with disabilities and participants representing Latin countries and the Army came close.

On Manning Avenue and San-

Runner Delvine Meringor of Kenya runs east on Santa Monica Boulevard in Westwood, Los Angeles, towards the finish line. Meringor won the 37th annual L.A. Marathon with a time of 2:25:03 on Sunday, March 20. (Jorge Devotto Ordoñez | The Corsair) ta Monica Boulevard there were two piñatas hanging from the traffic light, a white unicorn with a rainbow-colored tail and a yellow pineapple. A few runners managed to tap or touch the pineapple piñata, which made the crowd cheerful. Javier Garcia and Aracely Rodriguez, members of VRLA, managed to dress as cows to get the attention of the participants. They were offering bottled waters, orange slices and bananas cut in pieces to anyone crossing their sight. From VRLA, De Santiago said that all their five members participating made it to the finish line, but she also noticed that some cleaning trucks came onto the path of the marathon, ultimately stopping many runners from completing their race. The city of Santa Monica was the finish line of the L.A. Marathon from 2009 to 2019, but this ended abruptly in 2019. The McCourt Foundation, who organize the L.A. Marathon, cited lack of space for runners, fans, and vendors in Santa Monica as a primary factor in their decision to relocate.

March Madness Rages On

Keith Mowatt | Staff Writer

Every March, the Division I National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Committee selects 68 college basketball teams to play in a single-elimination tournament and ultimately crown a national champion. The event, named March Madness, has a long history of memorable moments which fans cherish.

When asked what his favorite March Madness moment of all time was, Joel Padilla, a 24 year-old Santa Monica College (SMC) student who works in the Student Services Center, said, “As a UCLA fan, last year's run was very memorable.” Padilla was referring to the run in which the team of University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) went to the final four in March Madness of 2021. A game-winning shot in overtime by former Gonzaga point guard Jalen Suggs in a game against UCLA, on March 31, 2021, ended the Los Angeles university’s season.

“I really enjoy the electricity of the event… basketball is one of those sports that any given team can win on any given day,” said Padilla. 30-year-old Robert Escobar, a custodial worker at SMC, also enjoys following March Madness. Escobar's favorite part of the tournament is spending time with his family when watching the games. When asked who he’s rooting for in the basketball tournament, Escobar said, “USC and UCLA, because I am an L.A. guy."

This year's tournament features four teams from Southern California. UCLA, the University of Southern California (USC), San Diego State University (SDSU) and California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) all received a shot to win it all. UCLA played Akron in the first round on Thursday, March 17 and pulled out a tight win with a score of 57-53.

“It was a good win,” said Padilla. “It was closer than what I would have liked. Luckily, they weren’t one of the teams that was upset.”

UCLA went on to play Saint Mary’s College on Saturday, March 19 in the second round. Unlike the first round’s close win, UCLA won in blow out fashion with a score of 72-56. With this win, UCLA has punched their ticket to the “Sweet Sixteen”, which is the name for the sixteen teams remaining after the first weekend of March Madness. UCLA will play North Carolina on Friday, March 25 at the Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia, Pa. at 6:39 p.m. for a spot in the “Elite Eight.”

Aside from UCLA, the other Southern California teams featured in this year's tournament did not fare well in the tournament. CSUF, SDSU, and USC all lost to their first round opponents, Duke, Creighton and Miami respectively. CSUF lost 78-61, SDSU lost 72-69, and USC lost 68-66. UCLA is the last Southern California team left standing as March Madness carries on.