Ariel Melendez
Height: 5-1
Year: Soph
High School: St. Paul
Major: Kinesiology
Events: 800, 1500

Cerritos College Track & Field (2014): Qualified for the CCCAA State Championship in the 1500 meters (4:56.43) after coming in ninth place at the Southern California Championships and fourth at the South Coast Conference Championships… Qualified for the SoCal Prelims in the 800 meters (2:22.77) after placing fourth at the conference championships… Also competed in the 400 meters (1:02.90)…..

Cerritos College Cross Country (2014): Placed 16th at the CCCAA State Championships in a time of 18:55.6, while she earned a 12th place finish at the Southern California Championships when she finished the course in 18:53.0… Posted a sixth place finish at the South Coast Conference Championships with a time of 19:03.59… Won the individual championship at the Brubaker Invitational with a time of 19:13.8 and completed the Embry Riddle Invitational in a third place time of 20:35.3… Came in 11th place at the Golden West Invitational after crossing the finish line in 19:02.9, while her time of 18:42.6 at the SoCal Preview Meet put her in seventh place… Recorded an eighth place time of 19:11.33 at the Fresno Invitational, with her time of 20:10.6 at the Mark Covert Open earned her a ninth place result…..

Cerritos College Cross Country (2013): Came in 69th place at the state championships with a time of 19:51.11, while she placed 98th place at the Southern California Championships and crossed the finish line in 21:25.18… Finished in 22nd place at the South Coast Conference Championships with a time of 20:14… Competed in the UCLA Double Dual and posted a time of 25:35.53, which put her in 26th place, while her time of 19:46.05 at the Golden West Classic put her in 21st place… Also ran the Lou Vasquez Invitational and turned in a time of 20:41 for 22nd place and ran the SoCal Preview Meet in 21:32.17, which put her in 61st place…..

St. Paul HS: Spent four years on the cross country and track and field teams… Was a member of three league championship teams while a member of the track squad… Voted their Most Valuable Player all three seasons…..

Personal: Most memorable moment was when she posted her personal best cross country time of 19:16 at Griffith Park… Would like to transfer to Cal Poly Pomona and aspires to be a physical therapist… Has three siblings – Joseph (9), Joshua (9) and Emily (2)… Is the daughter of Jose and Yvonne Melendez… Born on November 12, 1994…..