Fernando Esparanza, who is attending the University of Zaragoza in Spain, will join the Lewis-Clark State College track and cross country teams starting in January, Warrior coach Mike Collins has announced.
Esparanza has a strong running background and has performed well in the middle distances while competing at the Spain national championships. He finished fourth in the 1,500 at the 2008 Spain National U-23 Outdoor Championships and was sixth at the indoor meet during the same year. He also was 12th in the 1,500 at the 2006 outdoor U-18 meet and was seventh in the event at the 2004 indoor U-18 meet.
“His running background is quite good with a lot of experience at the club level in Spain,” Collins said. “His resume indicates that he has had the most success at the shorter distances, which we will take advantage of in track and our hopes are that we can train him to use this speed in cross country next fall.”
In cross country, he was No. 46 and No. 42, respectively, at the 2007 and 2008 Spain National Cross Country U-23 Championships. He has personal best times of 1:52 in the 800 meters, 3:54 in the 1,500, 8:59 in the 3,000, and 15:52 in the 5,000.
“We are excited to add Fernando to our running family here at LCSC,” Collins said. Fernando has expressed an emphatic desire to become a part of our program here. He is looking forward to gaining an American experience, attending college and finishing his educational goals and being a part of our cross country and track programs.”
